Evolving SEO Strategies in the Ever Changing Landscape of AI
If you’ve put a lot of time and energy into getting your website’s SEO in a good place, you know the frustrations (maybe even gut punches) that Google’s algorithms can bring.
Websites that were doing very well can quickly find themselves moving from the coveted spots on page 1 of search results down to page 3. Strategies need to be revisited, content constantly needs to be optimized, and more focused research has to be done around search intent.
It’s tough, it’s frustrating, it’s a rollercoaster – all in one. But that’s the kind of challenge that our team at Mountain Laurel Digital loves to take on.
This year’s a little different. Normally, these updates happen monthly – but in 2023, we’re seeing them on a near-daily basis.
To make things more challenging, we’ve got AI in the mix. Search behavior is changing. The way people ask questions is changing. We’re seeing new ranking signals (known characteristics of websites that determine their position in the search engine) and updates being rolled out continuously – this is unprecedented. Google isn’t just “updating” – what we’re looking at is a reinvention of the search experience.
Moving forward, Microsoft’s Bing and Google won’t just be a cold list of links to websites that may hold answers to your questions – instead, they will use natural language models to “talk” to you via a chat-like interface. You will find that you can make purchases directly off the search page. This has tons of implications for search and will universally affect all websites.
The Search Generative Experience on Bing for the search “What does a hippo weigh?”
While the future of search is nigh, it’s not quite here yet (you can get a glimpse on Bing) – it’s still in beta, and it’s hard to understand what’s relevant and what’s hoopla. Stress of adaptation aside, we think it’s kind of great.
We’ve put this blog together as a guide to demystify this for you, our clients, and to help you understand how AI is affecting search, what it means for you, and how we’re going about bolstering your SEO and content strategy to respond to these changes.
Bard-a-Bing, Bard-a-Boom.
Bard is a chatbot developed by Google AI, using Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). It is trained on a massive dataset of text and code, and it can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way – just like ChatGPT. It is intelligent in the way that it won’t just pick up relevant information and drop it in front of you when you search for something. It will learn about you, understand you, and present you with very specific recommendations and information based on what you’re seeking.
Bard will be your friendly Black Mirror-esque intelligent robot companion, who will make the search experience more personalized, helpful, and creative. Bard expands on what it means by these three terms:
Source: Bard (google.com)
“More personalized: Bard will be able to learn your interests and habits over time, and it will use this information to personalize your search results, recommendations, and other experiences. For example, if you're interested in cooking, Bard could recommend recipes, cooking videos, or restaurants near you.
More helpful: Bard will be able to answer your questions in a more comprehensive and informative way, even if they are open-ended, challenging, or strange. Bard will also be able to help you with tasks like writing, research, and problem-solving.
More creative: Bard will be able to generate more creative and engaging content, such as poems, stories, scripts, and code. Bard could also help you with your creative projects, such as writing a song or designing a website.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai put it best, “Soon, you’ll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web: whether that’s seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner. These new AI features will begin rolling out on Google Search soon.”
It’s expected to launch within the year.
Project Magi
While Bard acts like an AI co-pilot for the web, Project Magi’s use of AI pertains more to search itself. Project Magi will use AI to hyper-personalize search results, more so than Google Search does now, and it will also predict what users are likely to search for or seek to purchase. Magi is also expected to use more visual elements, such as images and videos, to make search results more engaging and informative. There’s a lot more fog around what exactly Project Magi will entail, but we know Google is striving overtime to make it a resounding answer to what Bing is doing currently.
Key AI-driven Changes from Google
Here’s how AI might affect the SERP for a question like “what's better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, bryce canyon or arches.”
Source: How Google is improving Search with Generative AI (blog.google)
Here, we see:
Generative AI: Google is set to feature AI-driven snapshots in response to user queries, directly providing answers within the SERP.
Citations: Google intends to reference websites directly, extracting and showcasing images, titles, and header texts.
Perspectives: This novel feature accentuates human-centric content by presenting short-form videos, social posts, and images in a new filter mode.
How MLD is Using SEO Strategies to Respond
To respond to the tides of change in the SEO world, we have an action plan in place. We have already started by focusing on blog optimizations from an on-site perspective, but we will be strengthening our clients’ websites’ foundations in the following ways:
Natural Language Optimization: By leveraging rich snippets and structured data, we're zeroing in on enhancing natural language strategies. This approach aims to prioritize rankings in Q&A boxes and top-featured resources. Learn about Rich Snippets.
Content Strategy Refinement: Given the rapid changes, our focus now shifts towards content ideation that is responsive to the AI shifts in the digital space. The goal is to provide timely answers to questions and establish ourselves as a primary resource in the chatbot-driven SERP of the future.
Metadata Strategy: This involves refining metadata strategies to boost our search presence by increasing the saturation of intent-driven keywords throughout the most-searched questions and relevant content on our clients’ websites.
Public Relations (PR) Amplification: PR remains a dominant ranking signal. By enhancing our PR initiatives, we aim to bolster your site and brand's authority in the SERP.
Looking Ahead
Uncertainty about the future is never easy, but our team at Mountain Laurel Digital is here to support you and put plans into place that will not only help you survive the rapid-fire changes coming at us, but rise above them and succeed.
As always, we’re here to answer any and all questions you may have. Feel free to reach out to our team if you need help in understanding what lies ahead!