Whenever Google releases an update, the online business world (and today, that’s anyone with a website!) holds their breath. Changes to how search engines operate lead us to worry about whether or not our ranking will be impacted, whether Google will still send us traffic and whether our key clients will still be able to find us.
It’s a valid concern. And the recent SGE algorithm rollout is the next update to cause this worry.
Before we dive into the specifics of the SGE update, we want to say one important thing – as long as you are doing the right things online, you’re OK. And 90% of businesses are typically doing the right things. So whenever you see an algorithm update, there’s really no need to panic. Unless of course you’re doing the wrong things, which we’ll cover below.
SGE update
SGE stands for Search Generative Experience. It’s essentially a shift in how search results are generated and presented in Google.
The goal of Google is to make your experience in Google more personalised. So instead of just giving you search results, they instead use cutting-edge AI and machine learning to try to figure out what it is that you’re actually looking for and then deliver those results to you on Google’s own results page.
You can already see this in Google’s featured snippets results. For example, if you search ‘who said I can do anything’ you get a link to a website, but above that you get the actual content that answers your question.
This is a featured snippet.
The new SGE update will deliver you more results similar to this but far more fulsome. Once the update is released, Google will actually find and synthesise the information that you want into text at the top of the search results page.
What this does is keeps you on Google’s own website. You need to remember that Google is a business as well, and with the onset of AI they are now competing with a much wider variety of search engines, many of whom are already offering generative responses.
Will it give the user a better experience? We won’t know until it’s released here in Australia.
What does the SGE update mean for me?
The question we’re getting from our clients is what does the SGE update mean for me? Does it impact how I compete in the digital space?
How should I adapt my marketing strategy for SGE?
Just to reiterate what we said above, all the things you should have been doing to compete well with digital marketing remain the same. Google wants to give users the best responses for their search queries. So you need to be creating original (not AI-generated), quality and value-adding content that is within your realm of authority. If you’re also using targeted keywords and optimising your website, even better.
But of course, there are marketing strategies that might see you operating better in an AI-search world.
1. Create high-quality within your niche
We’ve said this above, but it bears repeating, as it’s the single most important thing you can be doing on your website – always focus on creating valuable content that addresses your target audience’s specific questions and needs.
Use active voice, natural and jargon-free language and talk about topics that are within your ‘authority’.
And never use AI-generated content. Just don’t do it.
2. Use more visuals
The SGE update comes with better visual search capabilities. So it’s a good time to take a look at the images and graphics you have already used on your website and consider your visual strategy going forward.
You want to make sure that your images are always high quality, appropriately sized for your website and have been made appropriately so that they’re more searchable.
3. Think about your overall marketing strategy
All algorithm updates come with the risk of a drop in traffic. So it’s a good idea to take a look at your overall marketing strategy. You might want to put more focus on email marketing, offline promotions or even (possibly) social media.
A good mix means you don’t have all your eggs in one basket if things go awry.
4. Think about SEO
SEO is your friend more than ever now – as long as it’s done right. Leveraging schema markup (that’s structured data) can help you convey to Google what you want to be known for and can give you a little bump in your search traffic. It can also help you appear in more of the new AI-generated search features.
You also want your SEO to be more intent-focused (not just keyword-focused). This means focusing your content on the intentions of your audience – are they coming to a specific page to buy something, then you transactional intent. Or are they coming to a specific webpage to get information – then informational intent should be your focus. Your keywords can also be targeted this way.
Again, a good SEO can help you achieve this.
5. Create supporting related content
One final way you can get more opportunities to be part of AI-generated responses is to create supporting content, such as buying guides or product comparisons. Put these on your website as well and your content may be pulled into AI-generated responses that can distinguish you from your competition.
Get in touch!
Google algorithm updates are no reason to panic, but they are always a good reminder to review your marketing strategy generally. At Blue Clay we can help you stay ahead of the curve with digital marketing.
Check out our free Resources page for more insights or contact the helpful team at Blue Clay today. We’d love to help!
