Google’s AI Overview is the biggest change in how people search the web in 15 years. Our clients want to know how they can reliably appear in Google’s AI overview and if the SEO strategies and tactics are different from those used to appear in Google’s traditional organic search results.
So we set out to understand the consensus by consuming everything we could learn from top SEO thought leaders on the topic of appearing in Google’s AI Overview. For websites, being in this spot means a big increase in visibility and organic traffic and a big impact on search engine optimization, or how content is ranked and displayed. The stakes couldn’t be higher for companies who want to get more organic traffic from search. Websites that don’t appear in Google’s AI Overview risk lower click-through rates from search since the AI results push traditional organic results further down below the fold.
In this guide, you’ll learn to master the strategies and best practices you need to get your website in Google’s AI Overview. We’ve already done the time-consuming, tedious work of sifting through dozens of articles on this topic, and presenting you with the best of the best. Not only are we presenting the top, latest knowledge on AI-powered search from around the web, we’re also sharing the outcomes of our own tests on how to appear in Google’s AI Overview search results.
What are Google’s AI Overviews
Google’s AI Overview, previously known as SGE (Search Generative Experience), is a live feature that gives the user an AI-powered snippets of information related to their search query that shows up at the top of Google Search results, condensing info from multiple sources to give the user an answer. It combines AI-generated summaries with links to websites that support the information. The information in AI Overviews is from Google’s Knowledge Graph and all across the web.
AI Overviews show up for informational queries that often start with “what,” “how,” “when,” or “why.” Google is expanding the types of queries that trigger AI Overviews, but currently they’re more common for these questions than for transactional or local ones. Google’s systems automatically decide which links to show in AI Overviews based on regular search guidelines.
Benefits of being in AI Overviews:
- Increased Visibility: Your website gets top spot in search results.
- Potential Traffic: Users who want more info will click through to your site.
- Credibility: Being featured by Google’s AI can build trust with users.
The Basics: Google Search Essentials and SEO Best Practices
Before we get into Google AI Overview specific optimization, you need to have a solid SEO foundation in place. Of the websites that appear in AI Overview results, 85% of them rank on page one for that keyword already. Which means your website has only a 15% chance to appear in Google’s AI Overview if it isn’t ranking on page one for that keyword, according to a recent SE Ranking study. Before investing time and energy into appearing in Google’s AI Overviews, be sure to prioritize improving rankings for those non-page-one keywords.
There is a lot of overlap between traditional SEO tactics and AI Overview SEO tactics. We advise you to focus on areas where that overlap exists and execute your strategy with consistency. If you are not able to commit to a 12 month strategy at minimum to show the consistency Google craves, you are better off pursuing other marketing channels. This is especially true for companies that don’t have authoritative sites, or a large content offering. We learned from Google’s document leak that Google is sandboxing new content, and equally as important, Google favors big brands over small brands, which means it will take time to build an audience.
These basic practices are necessary for ranking well in any search scenario. Check out Google Search Essentials for full SEO best practices:
- High Quality, Accurate and Up to Date Content: This is the foundation of both Google AI Overviews and E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). Google’s AI wants to summarize the best information, which must be reliable and current.
- Clear and Concise Writing: AI Overviews prefer content that’s easy to read and understand, which aligns with E-E-A-T’s emphasis on clarity for the reader.
- Strong E-E-A-T Signals: Showing expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness is important for both being in AI Overviews and ranking well overall. This can be done through author credentials, citations and backlinks from reputable sources. Use Google Search Console to monitor and improve your website’s SEO performance, including requesting re-indexing for new content.
AI Overview Optimization
To get in Google’s AI Overview you need to tailor your content based on the research below:
Answer the Query at the Start
Like featured snippets, AI Overviews often pull information from the beginning of your content. Answer the query clearly and concisely in the first few sentences. It is also critical that you answer the question using simple, easy to understand answers. Your chances of appearing in Google’s AI Overview drops if your answers have poor readability scores. Based on our experience, we advise that you use the Flesch Reading Ease formula, as it works best for content marketing.
Targeted Keywords and Phrases
While AI is smart, including relevant keywords helps Google understand your content’s topic and relevance to the query. For example, if you are answering the question “What does value based bidding do,” you should see the keyword “value-based bidding” immediately in your content.
Comprehensive Coverage
Covering a topic thoroughly shows expertise and can be useful for both AI Overviews and E-E-A-T. An AI-organized results page categorizes search results under unique, AI-generated headlines, making it easier to explore different perspectives and content types.
Page Speed and Mobile Friendliness
User experience matters. Make sure your website loads fast and is optimized for a fluid mobile experience.
Structured Data
This is not always a deciding factor, but well organized data can provide additional context to Google and may help you get featured.
Advanced AI Overview Strategies
To get more of your content in AI Overviews:
Use Visuals
Add images, videos and infographics to your content to make it more engaging and informative and potentially more appealing to Google’s AI. Search Labs is introducing new AI Overview features including multi-step reasoning, planning, video search and quick answers.
Internal and External Linking
Link to relevant pages on your website and authoritative external sources to show expertise and add context. Search Labs users have access to advanced features like searching with video and are encouraged to sign up for early access to these features.
Regular Updates
Keep your content fresh and up to date. Google’s AI likes recent and relevant information.
Get Started with AI Overviews
Appearing in Google’s AI Overview is a great way to get more visibility and organic traffic to your website. Follow these expert recommendations and optimize your content for AI, and you’ll increase your chances of being featured. Remember — it’s a continuous process of creating high quality content, building authority, and adapting to the search engines’ algorithm changes.
