{"id":16711,"date":"2023-09-20T12:15:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T16:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/?p=16711"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:03:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:03:02","slug":"generative-ai-seo-zero-click-searches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/generative-ai-seo-zero-click-searches\/","title":{"rendered":"Generative AI, SEO, and what leaders should know: Google search in the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEO and content are two of the most important marketing channels used by Insight\u2019s portfolio and forward-looking founders are starting to ask us questions about the impact of generative AI on search results. Our team has been researching the topic, and we believe the impacts will be significant. <\/span><\/p>\n

GenAI will have a transformative effect on users’ search experience, and there will be myriad second-order impacts of that change in the scaleup ecosystem. Web traffic to companies could fall significantly, and GTM motions will be shaken up. New Google Labs experiments<\/a> indicate the direction Google is moving, and we think it\u2019s a bellwether for how search overall is evolving towards more zero-click searches.<\/p>\n

What is a zero-click search?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A zero-click search means that users get answers on the search engine results page without clicking on links \u2014 by reading snippets, browsing headlines, or clicking on maps and local listings. 2022 data from <\/span>SEM Rush<\/span><\/a> shows that about half of Google searches were zero click, and that this has been trending up over time. Now genAI \u2014 or the threat of genAI-forward competitors \u2014 has given Google a catalytic push forward in its shift towards more zero-click searches.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Google is still the dominant search engine, and they\u2019re testing using generative AI to answer search queries. If you haven\u2019t seen it yet, you can request access to it in <\/span>Google Search Labs<\/span><\/a>, and you should start familiarizing yourself because it will change the future of search.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Google results page of the future<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Google is calling this the <\/span>Search Generative Experience (SGE). It combines reliable data from multiple organic search results and uses Google\u2019s LLM to turn it into a prose answer to a user\u2019s search \u2013 all without having to click on any links in the results page. This is the logical extension of the Featured Snippets feature, and in fact, SGE relies heavily on the Featured Snippets algorithm to write their text.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"generative<\/p>\n

SGE output provides a robust answer by aggregating multiple sources and provides a conversational interface for deeper questions. Links are available but are not the primary focus.<\/em><\/p>\n

Overall, if you look at the Google results page of the future, <\/span>there is far more screen real estate dedicated to Google search features and less available for organic and paid search results. As Google continues to experiment, the balance will shift \u2014 Google will only reduce its ad revenue from search if competitors force it, but it is likely that organic search will be fighting for space in a world where there is much less available than in the past.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

The current Google results page (left) gives a majority of screen real estate to organic links. Google\u2019s SGE-powered results page (right) gives far less space for organic search results.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Insight\u2019s independent research has found that only 57% of links cited by SGE are from the first page of organic results.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Finally, another big change is that the links cited by SGE are not the same ones at the top of traditional search results. Insight\u2019s independent research has found that only 57% of links cited by SGE are from the first page of organic results. The first SGE link is the same as the first organic link only 12% of the time, and in 45% of searches, it isn\u2019t even from the top 10. If users start switching their reading habits and clicking behavior to the SGE box, this could be a huge shift in traffic and eyeballs.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for scaleup companies?<\/span><\/h2>\n

SEO will be changing. Every time Google has an algorithm update, there are winners and losers in the market. Panda<\/a>, in 2011, famously demolished eHow, cutting their traffic by almost 50% and funneling lots of it to their rival Wikihow. This shift has a chance to be just as big and disruptive. GenAI will introduce new strategies for technical on-page and off-page SEO. SEO is not dead, but it will be dramatically different.<\/p>\n

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SEO is not dead, but it will be dramatically different.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Content strategy changes<\/h3>\n

Content teams will need to adapt and start figuring out how to create content that ranks highly in SGE and gets clicks. This might mean a focus on new types of media (like video or podcasts) or more syndication of content into third parties. It could also mean a focus on more independent research that provides unique perspectives for a genAI to cite. Content will still be important, but the answer is not to use genAI to mindlessly increase production \u2014 precision and an evolving strategy will be required.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Expect search traffic declines of up to 25%<\/h3>\n

Web Traffic will likely decline. More importantly than just the algorithm update, the evolution towards a zero click world means less traffic coming to your webpage. Insight\u2019s analysis across our portfolio and conversations with other leading experts put the expected traffic drop in the range of 15-25%. Some of that loss will be low-quality traffic that was never going to turn into real revenue, but some will not.<\/p>\n

Some experts have opined that Featured Snippets didn\u2019t hurt SEO traffic significantly, so we shouldn\u2019t be concerned about the impact of SGE. This is faulty logic for two core reasons. Featured Snippets have never been very prevalent, appearing in only 18% of searches. By comparison, Google is testing SGE on all non-sensitive and non-political searches. Featured Snippets have also always had excellent click-through rates. SGE, with its amalgamation of multiple sources and better context to users, will reduce those click-through rates. Google will also allow users to ask follow-up questions directly in a conversational format, further reducing click-through rates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Traffic fuels so many aspects of your GTM engine. Lead quantity could go down even if quality goes up. Retargeting campaigns may be able to target only a fraction of their previous audience. Lead scoring accuracy may be reduced if more research is done off-site. Brand scorecards and awareness campaign measurement could be less accurate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paid search will be in flux<\/span><\/h3>\n

Google\u2019s SGE results pages average fewer ads above the fold than Google\u2019s traditional results pages did (1.2 vs. 2.4 ads). Google will only reduce its ad revenue from search if competitors force it \u2014 but Bing, Claude, and ChatGPT offering new ways to search for information offer exactly that competition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if the SGE that eventually goes live does have more ad slots, it likely won\u2019t be enough. There will still be some pressure on ad inventory, increasing the competition in auctions and leaving companies that don\u2019t have other proven channels for paid demand generation in a difficult spot. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What should leaders do?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

SGE is coming, and the worst thing you could do is nothing. You need to lay the groundwork now: sources inside Google tell us that SGE will be rolled out in limited circumstances to a small sample (<1%) of users in Q4. Google will use this to collect additional data and tweak the product, but competitive pressure from Bing and ChatGPT will likely force a <\/span>widespread rollout in 2024.<\/p>\n

CEOs and founders should ensure that their org has a plan and knows what the impact might be on achieving growth goals in 2024. Marketing leaders need to direct their teams to develop the approaches and testing to begin to understand the real impact, and how to respond to these major changes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>So, what should you do today to prepare for this zero-click world? There are no definitive answers right now, so the best advice we have is to b<\/span>e engaged, proactive, and real.<\/p>\n

Be Engaged<\/h3>\n