Google’s AI Overviews (previously known as Search Generative Experience or SGE) have emerged, and to achieve a high ranking in these AI-driven search results, it’s essential to optimize for Google’s AI-powered snapshots.Continue reading to discover our award-winning team’s strategies for ranking in SGE!Effective strategies for ranking in SGE include:
Implement search engine optimization (SEO)
Integrate with Google Knowledge Graph
Target relevant long-tail searches
Enhance content readability
Develop supporting visuals
Utilize structured data
Engage with Google Merchant Center
Strengthen E-E-A-T signals
Gain featured placement on third-party sites
Explore how to incorporate these elements into your SGE strategy below:Research indicates that websites that excel in search engine optimization have a higher likelihood of appearing in Search Generative Experience or AI Overview snapshots. Google has also confirmed that SGE is “deeply integrated with our core Search ranking and quality systems.”These core systems encompass:
BERT
Crisis information systems
Deduplication systems
Exact match domain system
Freshness systems
Helpful content system
Link analysis systems
Local news systems
MUM
Neural matching
Original content systems
Removal-based demotion systems
Passage ranking system
RankBrain
Reliable information systems
Reviews system
Site diversity system
Spam detection systems
Adhering to SEO best practices will naturally align with systems like spam detection.We recommend focusing SGE optimization efforts on content-based systems, such as:
Freshness systems
Helpful content system
Original content systems
Passage ranking system
Link analysis systems
Optimizations in these areas may include:
Updating outdated content on still-relevant topics
Creating original content, such as research studies or helpful tools, to attract backlinks
Ensuring content is easy for users and AI models to read and understand
Improving content trust signals with quotes from experts, first-party insights, and more
As a disclaimer — don’t overlook SEO best practices outside of content-based optimizations. For instance, technical SEO is crucial for search engines like Google to crawl and index your content. However, sites with a robust SEO program will find that most of their SGE optimizations target content.AI Overviews include citations, and Google Knowledge Graph is a prevalent citation source. This database provides the large language models (LLMs) powering Search Generative Experience with billions of data points to utilize for AI-generated results.Entering Google Knowledge Graph isn’t like obtaining a Google Business Profile — you can’t simply apply. Instead, you must have Google recognize your business as an entity. Once recognized, it will generate a Google Knowledge Panel.For this to occur, businesses use several tactics, including:
Having a homepage or “About Us” page on your website
Creating social media profiles, such as on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
Implementing Organization schema markup on your website
Linking to your homepage or “About Us” page from your social profiles
Attracting external backlinks from reputable sites within and outside your industry
Depending on your business, you might already have a Google Knowledge Panel! Search your brand name on Google Search and check if a right-hand panel appears. If it does, proceed with the steps to claim your Google Knowledge Panel.Note: Suggested follow-up searches in AI Overviews are not yet available. However, Google has experimented with these suggestions, indicating they may return and become an optimization tool.Google designed AI Overviews to provide snapshots that “serve as a starting point” for users to delve deeper into topics through cited links or suggested conversational follow-up searches.Consider the search, “how to calculate the cost of shingles for a roof.”
The AI Overview cites several guides covering topics like:
How much does a roof cost
How much does a roof cost [in a specific state]
How to know when to replace a roof
How to save on roofing costs
Your business could create a new (or updated) guide on the cost of a shingled roof, or even develop an interactive cost calculator tool — tools are excellent for capturing traffic from AI Overviews!As a generative search engine, AI Overviews employ LLMs like Gemini, MUM, and PaLM2 to power their results. Ensuring these LLMs can comprehend your content and its context is crucial, where improving readability comes into play as a strategy for ranking in SGE results.With a free tool like our Readability Test Tool, it’s easy to get started with this optimization.
Enter your URL or text, and the tool will calculate your content’s readability. We recommend an eighth-grade reading level for web content, though this can vary based on your target audience.Visuals are another powerful strategy for ranking in AI-powered snapshots and responding to SGE’s impact on Google Search results. Multimedia elements, such as infographics and videos, offer an alternative to text-based results.AI Overviews, for example, are not found in Google Image or Google Video search.Focus on image SEO and video SEO, and your business can create a new channel for generating organic traffic, as it’s expected to decrease with Google’s AI-powered results.Visuals are still useful for ranking in SGE results because AI Overviews will include images (and links to the sites hosting them) when relevant. For example, search for “outdoor patio types,” and the snapshot will have visuals.
While the above are photographs, AI Overviews can also include graphics.Get ideas for what visuals to include using Google Image search or AI-generated results. Also, consider what would be helpful for your target buyer when searching for your target keyword.Even if it doesn’t exist, that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be helpful!Structured data is another effective tactic for ranking in Search Generative Experience. Structured data provides AI models with valuable information about your content and brand.Product markup, for instance, provides Google Shopping Graph with information like:
Price
Inventory
Ratings
And more
AI Overviews use Google Shopping Graph — Google states it “is built on Google’s Shopping Graph” — to generate results, particularly results with transactional search intent like “outdoor patio set.”
Other markup types to consider include Organization and LocalBusiness.Besides referencing content from Google’s index, Google Shopping Graph also utilizes Google Merchant Center, which AI Overviews then use when generating AI-powered results.Join Google Merchant Center, which is free, if relevant to your business.Studies into generative search engines like AI Overviews indicate that E-E-A-T indicators influence the engines. While E-E-A-T is not a ranking factor, it ties into the goal of Google’s Helpful content system (which is an SGE ranking factor).E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust and can be improved by:
Including trust signals, such as certifications, awards, or years of experience
Supporting statements with studies, statistics, or quotes from trusted sources
Using an authoritative tone of voice, like “Restart the computer” vs. “You should restart the computer.”
In a recent generative engine study, researchers found that the above updates could trigger over a 100% improvement in visibility. Better E-E-A-T can also impact other critical business metrics, like conversion rates for product purchases or quote requests.You can also rank in AI-powered snapshots — indirectly — through third-party sites. Consider searches containing “best” or “top,” for example. These searches often feature sites that compile and review products, services, and businesses.
In the example above, frequently-mentioned products get highlighted (though Google doesn’t link to the brand’s website — only the website hosting the image). However, if users opt to visit one of the cited sites, your business has a chance at receiving referral traffic.Getting featured on third-party sites is similar to link building with outreach. Like link building, though, these features can happen naturally through word-of-mouth and as your brand grows. You can also join directory sites, like Yelp and Angi’s, and work on attracting reviews there.AI Overviews are here, and while Google is still refining their frequency, appearance, and features, the company appears committed to integrating AI into its search results.So, start implementing the SGE ranking tips above now!Need experts? Contact us online to learn how our AI Overview optimization services can assist!Find answers to common AI Overviews (formerly Search Generative Experience) questions below:
