Search Generative Experience (SGE) is continuing to drive a shift in Google search results. As AI innovation continues to deliver more comprehensive and informative answers to Google searches, businesses must ensure their digital presence remains relevant – especially as we can expect SGE results to be integrated directly into most Search Engine Results Pages (SERP), as well as within Local/Maps results sometime this year.
SGE is no longer a trend, but a major component of Google’s search business. As Google CEO Sundar Pichai noted in the company’s recent earnings call, the organization is “seeing an increase in Search usage among people who use the new AI overviews, as well as increased user satisfaction with the results.”
The question is – how much will businesses need to overhaul their Google Business Profiles in order to remain relevant in local search?
My answer: it depends.
There are many factors to consider. To start, do you have a deep understanding of your customer and the path they take to even begin the search that results in finding your business? Where are you at with other online marketing strategies? How much time have you spent already optimizing your business for local search?
To really understand the best path forward for your business, let’s dive in a bit deeper.
Understanding SGE’s Impact on Local Search
SGE has changed local search and will continue to play a role in its evolution, so businesses must understand it in order to optimize for the future. Where traditional search results offer a list of links to business listings, websites and sponsored pages from Google, SGE uses generative AI to create snapshots that answer user queries by summarizing content from Google Business Profiles, websites, social media and customer reviews. This approach allows search to unfold as a series of refined questions and follow-ups, similar to the way ChatGPT functions.
When a potential customer conducts a local business search, SGE provides a comprehensive summary of businesses, including customer ratings and reviews, presenting a more informative search result. While traditional search usually leads with ads, SGE (for now) focuses on providing users with more detailed information regardless of whether a business is paying for it to be there
As it stands today, SGE snippets are more likely to be triggered when a searcher enters a longer query. According to a recent study from SERanking, single-word queries triggered a SGE snippet in approximately 12% of cases, where five-word queries triggered a SGE snippet in nearly 20% of cases.
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Let’s look at an example. Say you search for “Subaru dealers near me.” If you use traditional Google search, results will consist of a bunch of sponsored links and a 3-pack (a format for displaying top results for business pages):
When you use SGE to perform the same search, you get a concise summary of nearby dealers – and you even notice that customer review ratings appear alongside each location. SGE has culled those dealers’ websites, business listings, rating pages and other digital channels to summarize this information. Most interestingly, there are zero ads anywhere on the entire page featuring SGE results – although most certainly there will be soon given how dependent Google is on ad revenue.
Now let’s try a more refined search in SGE – this time, Chevrolet service center:
The results here are becoming busy and hard to parse even without any ads on the page. SGE is returning multiple results from the same dealer but without clearly delineating what is a service center page vs what is a dealer/sales page. The additional information they are choosing to show is not consistent with some descriptions appearing to be based off of user reviews (“some say”), while other descriptions seem to be a summary of the webpage, website, or a rewritten business description.
While traditional search also uncovers service listings, only three listings appear, and no ratings or details accompany the listings which means SGE is improving its understanding of the service listing. It now knows that service listings are a department at the dealer, therefore, the reviews that all service-oriented reviews can be attributed to the service listing.
This busy experience is similar for non-branded searches but the execution varies depending on the query. For example, “best coffee shops in Lincoln Square to work,” reveals relevant, descriptive answers about local coffee shops – and remember, these results appear above any other organic and paid search results. Also note comments about food and drink offerings as well as atmosphere.
When you compare the SGE results to the traditional Featured Snippet from TripAdvisor that appears below it, you can see how this type of experience is likely to keep searchers more engaged, especially if they take advantage of the refined follow-up searches Google is encouraging.. Granted, people who simply need to complete utility searches (such as movie times nearby) won’t necessarily care to have a deep conversation in order to complete their search. But, when SGE is integrated into every SERP, utility users may benefit from a better user experience due to the more relevant results and, as a bonus, the lack of ads (for now).
Optimizing and Diversifying to Navigate the Future of SGE
Given the changes – and media coverage – resulting from SGE innovations, it might seem like every business must rush to overhaul their local search strategy. I would advise anyone that rushes to do this to first take a step back and first conduct a thoughtful audit of your local search strategy.
Here are the steps to take to optimize your business’ local search strategy for SGE:
1. Prioritize Google Business Profile:
Ensure that your business listings are accurate and reflect the scale and depth of your offerings. Making note of things that might seem small – like free Wi-Fi or accessible parking – will play a big role in being findable in conversational search.
2. Speak to your Customers:
Opt for a conversational tone in your listings. Make the customer feel like they’re in a one-on-one conversation. Incorporate longtail keywords naturally into your content and avoid keyword stuffing.
3. Proactively Seek Reviews:
Encourage customers to leave reviews on your GBP listings. This directly influences the AI-backed SGE results, which often surface the most representative ones.
4. Elicit Detailed Insights:
Encourage customers to provide detailed feedback when they leave reviews. As AI technologies evolve, users will start posing more nuanced inquiries about local businesses, and details about the Wi-Fi strength at your coffee shop or ambiance at your restaurant will help improve your ranking.
5. Make the Most of Multiple GBP Listings:
Businesses, especially car dealerships, can maintain separate listings for sales, parts, and service, which enhances the search experience for potential customers.
6. Consistency is Key:
Your website’s information needs to be in sync with the listing content. SGE also includes a website carousel in its results, giving the user the option to visit your site directly.
Navigating the SGE Future
SGE is changing local search, but businesses can quickly adapt to the evolving dynamics by mastering the basics and diversifying their strategies by optimizing their business listings, maintaining up-to-date, consistent content across platforms and seeking feedback from consumers. Businesses that are able to adapt and evolve will reap the benefits of higher visibility, more engagement, and ultimately, growth.
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