SEO Insights: September 2024 Report
It’s no secret that AI overviews are gradually becoming a more familiar sight in search results on both mobile and desktop. At Artemis, we’ve invested heavily in research and development to fully understand which types of searches prompt AI overviews and, crucially, how to turn this new feature to our clients’ advantage. Having monitored AI overviews in the UK for the past few weeks, we can now share some key insights.
What Searches Are Triggering AI Overviews?
Currently, AI overviews mainly appear for informational queries. However, Google has indicated that users will soon be able to modify their searches to discover local businesses that satisfy certain requirements, for example: “best yoga studio within a 20 minute walk”. This will create new opportunities for local businesses to rank prominently in search results, as AI overviews will appear above both the local pack and traditional organic search results. With organic results being pushed further down the page, optimising Google Business Profiles will become even more critical for local SEO success.
And here is where things get particularly interesting.
Certain informational queries with a clear commercial intent, such as “how much does a bespoke kitchen cost,” are triggering AI overviews that include links to featured web results. For example, when carrying out this search, we noticed that one of the featured results in the AI overview links to a page detailing a company’s pricing model—https://www.henrybuilt.com/pricing-and-budget. Informative? Yes. But there is a clear commercial interest too.
What’s more, at the time of writing, this particular result was ranking 93rd in the organic search results, meaning it would have had very little visibility otherwise. This raises some questions, as Google has previously implied that AI overviews would prioritise the most relevant results from top-ranking pages. This example suggests otherwise. For websites, this could lead to significant increases in impressions for pages that wouldn’t normally rank highly.
At Artemis, we are adept at identifying these content gaps and helping businesses craft the kind of informative, engaging content needed to benefit from AI overviews. By ensuring that our clients’ sites are rich with valuable information that directly addresses user intent, we position them for greater visibility and create more opportunities to capture traffic that might otherwise go to competitors.
Is the way people search changing?
There’s ongoing discussion about whether AI overviews are encouraging a more advanced approach to searching, with more long-tail queries being used. From personal experience, I’ve noticed that my own searches have become more sophisticated, as I anticipate that an AI overview can deliver a comprehensive response.
Previously, I might have searched for something like “things to do in Santorini” followed by “things to do in Mykonos” when trying to decide my next holiday destination. Now, I can ask Google to compare these destinations directly, or modify my search specific to my requirements, such as “which Greek island is best to visit without a car”, and it will pull comparative information from multiple sources to give me a detailed response.
We’re conducting advanced analysis to explore whether search queries are generally becoming longer and more complex as a result of more frequent AI overviews. This shift offers an exciting opportunity to identify areas where client websites could provide deeper insights or more comprehensive answers, so we can tailor content to better align with evolving user intent. As AI-driven features evolve, we continue to refine our content to ensure it stays relevant and well-optimised, ensuring our clients are well-positioned to be featured in AI overviews as this feature evolves.
The impact of SEO across Multimedia
AI Overviews are increasingly showing results from various multimedia channels, such as YouTube. This reiterates the growing importance of diversifying SEO efforts across different platforms and considering the best medium for communicating your message.
Gone are the days when SEO was limited to on-page text. It’s now essential for brands to consider the most effective ways to share and promote their services. For businesses offering highly visual services, the question is: are you using video content effectively on your site?
Ensuring that your multimedia assets are well-optimised and accessible to search engines is crucial. At Artemis, we follow SEO best practices across all multimedia formats—whether it’s optimising images, videos, or other assets.
Looking Ahead: Staying Ahead of the Curve
These trends are continuously evolving, but at Artemis, we pride ourselves on our ability to stay ahead of the curve. Our heavy investment in R&D means we are always ready to adapt, no matter how Google’s search landscape shifts. We actively monitor changes across both UK and US search results, ensuring that we’re always prepared to refine our strategies to capture every available opportunity for our clients.
AI overviews are undoubtedly here to stay, and as they become more advanced, we’ll continue to streamline our SEO strategies across all platforms and channels. Every new development presents an opportunity to generate traffic, and that’s something we at Artemis embrace with enthusiasm and expertise.
