While the online buzz suggests AI is coming for Google’s crown, the reality on the ground remains grounded in the search giant’s dominance. At the recent Agency Hackers SEO Leaders’ Event, the data told a clear story.
Google still commands six times the search volume of the largest Large Language Model (LLM) at this moment in time, ChatGPT. However, this doesn’t mean things are static. We’re in an era where clicks are a luxury. With 60% of searches now ending without a single click-through, and AI Overviews siphoning off another 30% of traffic when they appear, there may be a conversation to be had about a shift away from chasing keywords (that humans search for) to instead looking at how brands can be featured organically by LLMs.
The GEO debate
In the last year, you may have heard the term Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) as an upgrade or add-on to traditional SEO. But the truth from leaders in the SEO world is that this is far from being a total reinvention of the wheel. If you’ve been following best practice SEO and producing regular content, AI will rank this well, just like Google. Now there’s simply more of a spotlight on the gaps that may have been ignored for years.
Offsite Awareness
Backlinks have been losing power for years, but in the eyes of an AI, a brand mention is just as valuable as a link. This means Digital PR can be a major driver of AI visibility because you’re coupling an authoritative source with your brand. Even having brand mentions in Reddit threads and YouTube comment sections is valuable, as they are often being scraped to power AI Overviews.
Web traffic is becoming a luxury
Looking towards the future, there is already testing for Google Instant Checkout, which allows customers to buy products without ever touching a brand’s website. With website traffic getting harder to obtain, you need to make sure your brand retains it. This means reconsidering gated content to reduce bounce rates and allow users to access the content they want without needing to log in. You should also ensure that you add reviews and testimonials in HTML and not solely use plugins that hide the content within JavaScript that bots can’t read.
The brands on top of their SEO are in a good place, so they don’t need to panic or seek out ‘GEO Specialists’, because frankly, there’s no such thing. If you have neglected your SEO, the AI era will most certainly make you feel it more than ever.