Let me begin by saying, WOW! What a yr?! So many AI headlines in our web optimization digital rags. So many tea, popcorn, and alligator emojis used over Verge articles and Board conferences gone improper. We in all probability don’t even recall all of the failed makes an attempt at Twitter X replacements and Yandex leaks.
So, as we strategy 2024, what do I see in my proverbial crystal ball? Many quick and lean firms that don’t have web optimization/content material groups creating noise with AI content material, Google and Bing discovering inventive methods to floor issues not written by a bot, and SEOs working towards adapting to the brand new actuality.
However what does that seem like? How will we, as SEOs and entrepreneurs, have the ability to create and optimize content material in a sea of AI-generated textual content?
Extra genuine movies all over the place
There’s a rising cohort of shoppers who depend on video for discovery, analysis, and making buy choices. However not any form of video will do. Genuine tales, ideas from specialists, evaluations/unboxing from customers, and, in fact, leisure.
I see extra of this being surfaced by Google in SERPs, video search, buying, YouTube, and AI-generated outcomes. Not solely to push the AI content material out of sight but in addition to construct belief and appeal to a youthful viewers which may be extra inclined to go looking on TikTok or Instagram.
Find out how to prepare: Take into consideration how one can convey your video content material to life with E-E-A-T. Concentrate on creating bite-sized movies to inform actual tales and reply viewers questions, encourage clients to create helpful movies about merchandise, associate with micro or nano-influencers. Present creators with instruments and guides to help them with on-brand productions. Leverage this content material in blogs, on social media, and on product pages when it is smart. The thought is to create as soon as and share many instances on a number of surfaces and platforms.
Extra UGC and community-style content material
Google introduced in November that they’d be surfacing extra private insights and experiences from social media, blogs, and boards, and likewise adjusted their rater pointers to offer steerage round content material for these “hidden gems.”
With this in thoughts, I see growth-minded entrepreneurs discovering nimble methods to check, be taught, and optimize by surfacing content material from present communities or occasions.
Find out how to prepare: Take the time to check earlier than diving in. Search for low-effort, high-impact alternatives. To begin, is there an present group the place your viewers lives already? Might you leverage content material from there? Might you associate with them ultimately? Alternatively, in case you host webinars or occasions, are you able to seize person suggestions or movies there? Should you run an e-commerce store, are you able to incentivize clients to depart video evaluations, share explainer movies, or a minimum of a photograph with their suggestions? Getting clients and viewers members to share their experiences is a unbelievable method to construct model belief and advocacy and probably get extra publicity in search outcomes.
Steady shifts in SERP options
We’ve seen quite a lot of change over the past decade, and with SGE and Bing surfacing AI-generated outcomes, it doesn’t seem that it’ll decelerate anytime quickly. This yr, count on to see quite a lot of testing within the SERPs. Google and Bing will probably be discovering methods to serve up higher outcomes and experiences to learn searchers, manufacturers, website house owners, and advertisers.
Count on to see a better share of no-click outcomes with sources for informational searches, extra experiential outcomes like augmented actuality for training and e-commerce, simplified paths to conversion by surfacing much more product info immediately within the SERPs for transactional queries in each conventional and AI-generated outcomes, and new promoting alternatives within the chat outcomes.
If I take it a step additional, I might see Google surfacing AI-generated search options immediately of their Android cell message app to assist their customers get solutions and make purchases immediately in-app.
Find out how to prepare: Keep watch over MozCast to see how SERP options evolve over time. As issues evolve, take into account the place to include Schema markup in your website to maximise inclusion in featured snippets, different SERP options, and probably in AI-generated responses. For e-commerce, make the most of the Google Service provider Middle integration and ensure your feed is up-to-date. With no-click outcomes, take into consideration how one can measure success. Web site visitors might decline, however with the best technique, structured knowledge arrange, and a easy path to buy, conversions immediately from search have the potential to rise.
