When making online searches, you may have noticed a new snippet called “AI Overview”. Like any snippet on Google, this one can influence the type of content that gets pushed to the top of search results. Given its prominent placement and eye-catching appearance, it’s fair to assume it may have an impact on your website’s current rankings. Learn what exactly this impact may look like and how you can improve your website’s chances of being featured in this new snippet.
What Is the AI Overview Snippet?
The AI Overview snippet appears at the very top of the search results and takes up a significant portion of the page. Its purpose is to provide direct answers to search queries and provide an answer without a person even needing to click to learn more.
What Is Its Potential Impact On SEO?
A study suggests that the AI Overview snippet can lead to a 64% decrease in organic traffic for websites that are not being ranked within it. However, when implemented correctly, sites featured in the AI Overview snippet can experience a higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to traditional organic search results.
How To Boost Your Website’s Chances to Appear in This New Snippet
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Keyword Research
As with any SEO strategy, keyword research is the foundation. The AI Overview snippet favors high-intent search queries. Therefore, it’s important to focus on targeting specific, long-tail keywords within your content and metadata. A good first step is to test the AI Overview snippet yourself by searching for keywords you want your website to rank for, and analyzing what websites are doing that are ranking within the snippet for them. Are there topics or keywords that you’re missing out on? Do your competitors who are ranking within the snippet use more specific or intent-driven language? These insights can help guide your keyword strategy. You can also leverage tools like Google’s “People Also Ask” and “Google Trends” to identify relevant topics and queries that users are frequently searching for.
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On-Page SEO Optimization
Once you've gathered your target keywords, you can tie that work into technical SEO initiatives to better your chances to rank within Google’s AI Overview snippet. Use those highly searched terms as guidance for what to include within your page titles, metadata, heading tags and image alt text. It’s also important to link to other relevant pages within your content, whether they are from your site or a credible third-party site. You also want to ensure the URLs of your pages are clean and descriptive, while including the primary keyword that relates to the topic.
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Create User-Focused Content
The keyword research you have conducted will also inform you of the type of content that will be most useful to your audience. Using that information to your advantage, you can ensure that your content answers common user queries in a clear and concise manner. The information featured in the AI Overview snippet is designed to provide quick answers to peoples’ questions, so structure your content to do the same. Use easy-to-read headings, bullet points, and visuals to improve its readability. Additionally, your website content should be kept current and updated to ensure its accuracy. Blogs are a great way to ensure you are adding fresh, relevant content to your site on a routine basis. You should consider adding a FAQ page to address frequently asked questions, as this can increase your chances of appearing in AI-powered snippets.
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Implement Schema Markup
Adding Schema Markup to your website is a powerful way to increase your chances of appearing in Google’s rich results. Schema markup provides structured data that helps search engines better understand the content on your site, making it easier for them to pull relevant information for queries. Depending on your content, you can implement various types of Schema Markup, such as Organization, LocalBusiness, Article, or FAQ Page.
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Ensure Website Accessibility
Lastly, it’s important to ensure your website is accessible based on current WCAG 2.2 guidelines, and can be read by everyone. Google prioritizes user experience in its rankings, so this is an important step in the process. Some areas of focus when optimizing your site for accessibility include sizing it to render properly on mobile devices (as many users will access the website from their smartphones) and making sure that colors and fonts are user-friendly. Doing so not only helps influence your rankings for rich results like the AI Overview snippet, but also helps ensure all types of people, no matter their disability, are able to interact with your site.
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