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May 2024 Update – Google has officially released its Generative AI feature for its search engine, called AI Overviews (formerly the “Search Generative Experience” covered below). You can learn how AI Overviews work in this post: How To Rank in Google’s AI Overviews.
We’ve created guides on how to increase your traffic via SEO, PPC, email and more, but in this blog, we’re going to tackle what’s different about 2024.
There are lots of changes coming, but savvy marketers will only need to make a few changes to get more website traffic in 2024.
SGE’s Impact on Website Traffic
2024 is going to be the year that Google launches its AI-powered search.
The Search Generative Experience, also known as SGE (neither of which are great names, if we’re being honest), will be an update to the way Google responds to people’s questions.
Instead of the results page we’re used to — made up of information taken from websites — people will get an AI-generated response at the top of the search page.
Technically, this response is still made up of information taken from websites, but it doesn’t direct users to websites in the same way.
It’s going to be easy for people to get the answers to their questions from Google’s SGE instead of visiting a website.
Your website included.
This definitely feels scary. One study showed that websites saw a traffic drop of between 18 and 64% in SGE tests.
But, some websites saw a big increase in organic search traffic.
How can you be one of the businesses that can increase website traffic rather than lose it?
By being prepared.
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Luckily, the team at Thinkplus have started doing the hard work for you.
We’re figuring out how to rank in SGE and getting great results.
Some of the most important factors for ranking your website in Google’s SGE are:
- Extremely closely matching the information you publish with the phrase you are trying to rank for.
- Providing simple information with high readability.
- “Getting to the point” and giving the user the information they need very quickly on the page.
- Being a trusted source of information on the topic.
- Already ranking in the “regular” organic search results.
Check out our blog for a more detailed guide to ranking in Google’s AI search.
Hyper-Personalised Search
Because of SGE, we expect to see people starting to make more personal searches.
Google has trained the masses to ask questions (we use that term very loosely) like “Best family car 2023” instead of “Which car do you recommend for a family of four with two dogs who love the outdoors?”
And now Google is going to retrain them.
The more information the searcher gives Google, the better the answer.
This means they may not want to visit websites that will have content targeting a broader audience.
Because of this, it’s going to be more important than ever to understand the niche searches your audience are making and create content to answer their questions.
That way, Google is more likely to include your blog post as a reference in the SGE answer, instead of a competitor who has created a broader blog trying to cater to everyone.
To find out the specific questions your audience is asking, speak to your sales team.
They speak to potential customers daily and will be asked niche questions often.
Thinking back to the car example, the second search sounds like the type of question someone would ask in a car dealership.
This is how people will be searching in 2024.
You might be wondering how this will help you get more traffic to your website. Does it matter if you’re appearing as a reference website in the AI answer if the searcher can get everything they need from search?
Yes, you’re likely to see a drop in traffic, but these hyper-personalised AI responses from search engines will help more qualified traffic reach your website.
They’ll see your website coming up alongside the personalised answers they get from AI and be ready to purchase once they reach your site.
It’s also important to remember that search isn’t the only place you should be getting your traffic from.
You don’t want to rely on search completely. You need to branch out to survive.
It sounds like it’s going to be a lot of work, but in the next section, you’ll see it doesn’t have to be.
Get to the top of Google
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Omnichannel Marketing
A big mistake marketers make is treating every marketing channel like it needs brand-new, bespoke content.
It doesn’t have to be like that. Even if you’re trying to connect with slightly different audiences on different platforms.
Instead, you can create a big piece of broad content, like a white paper or eBook.
Then, you can cut that content down into smaller pieces, such as blog posts, videos, podcasts, emails or social media posts.
This will help you increase website traffic way more efficiently, and you’ll be sending out a consistent message across all platforms.
Not only that, but you can adjust the tone of voice to suit the platform you’re on or the audience you’re writing to.
This more personalised approach will help you drive traffic towards your website, whether that’s towards the bigger piece of content or right to your product or service pages (as long as they’re relevant).
There are other ways you can connect with your audience on a personal level which are new for 2024.
More Personal Content
Google is somewhat self-aware.
They realise that although AI responses can be helpful, people still want that human touch.
They want to hear from real people.
So, they’re adding new features to give that more personal touch.
And, if you take advantage of these features, you’ll increase traffic to your website easier than competitors who are still struggling with SGE.
These features from Google are Perspectives and Notes.
Perspectives
Perspectives is the name of a filter Google is adding to its search. This filter allows searchers to see insights from real people.
This could be in the form of a Reddit thread, answers on Quora, YouTube reviews, TikTok opinions and more.
This feature will help users get a fully human perspective on their search rather than just a generic AI answer.
To get more traffic to your website using Perspectives, you need to start by taking a look at which of your keywords trigger the Perspectives filter.
Then, you need to take a look at the content that’s appearing. Is it Q&A style, product demos or something else entirely?
Once you have a clear idea of what’s appearing in perspectives for your search terms, you need to find a way to appear in that content.
You can do this by replying to user questions on Reddit or Quora or by working with influencers to create user-generated content to appear in Perspectives.
As a result, you’ll get a boost in website traffic.
Notes
Notes is another recent feature that Google has announced.
It gives people the option to leave a note on search results to let other users know if it was helpful for them, which will increase website traffic if the Notes are positive.
We have yet to see this feature in action.
But we’ve always got an eye on anything that might change how digital marketing works.
It’s going to be more important than ever that your page titles and meta descriptions are accurate to the page they’re linking to. If not, people aren’t going to get what they need from your page and won’t be happy in the Notes.
However, if you create something high-quality and helpful, they’ll be more likely to leave a Note praising your work.
As with anything like this, people are more likely to leave a message when they’re unhappy rather than when they’re pleased.
So, the most important thing you need to take from this is that the pages on your website need to be good, and users should be getting what they expected from your site after clicking through from Google.
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The Impact of PPC
PPC is going to be another way to increase website traffic in 2024.
It will be helpful to any business, even those who have prepared for SGE and tested it ahead of time.
When SGE is launched to everyone and the algorithm is settling in, things will be turbulent for a while.
Using PPC to support your organic content will be a must if you want to keep a steady flow of traffic to your website.
Our PPC team predicts that SGE will be helpful for search ads.
Because people will be making more specific, personalised searches, you’ll be able to serve them the best ad for what they need.
Especially if you’re using Performance Max, which uses machine learning to serve ads to the right person at the right time.
This will help you increase website traffic while Google is a bit more turbulent and help you connect with potential customers when they’re ready to buy.
In 2024, it will be more important than ever that your PPC ads stand out from competitors. They should include your USPs, and any images should be eye-catching.
Avoid using AI-generated images where you can, as people are going to be wary of ads that show images that don’t quite match what’s on offer.
How to Increase Website Traffic in 2024
In the coming year, there are a few areas you need to focus on to get more website traffic.
- Pay attention to SGE and test ranking now before it gets rolled out to everyone
- Try ranking in SGE in different ways
- Explore other ways to rank, such as Perspectives
- Add a more personal touch to your content; this will help you stand apart from the generic AI answers
- Use omnichannel marketing to get a wide reach while saving time
- Use PPC to boost your traffic and help you appear in the AI-generated response.
What to Read Next
- How to Rank in Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)
- 5 Powerful Lead Generation Strategies for 2024
- What is Google Gemini? What Marketers Need to Know
