If you are like the majority of marketers you are scratching your head at the change in traffic to your website... Is it the new algorithm? Change of rules? Is my content bad? What is going on?
The answer is all of that and more.
Search has changed.
The algorithms have changed, it is heavily focused on the quality of the content on your site, and many of us may have gotten a little lazy or misdirected about updating our content to what is needed now.
We have spent almost 20 years focused on keywords and ensuring we reach that quota and our website is based around that. 'Make sure you say it at least 7 times on the page' to make sure it's in a heading.
Now, its quality of content, just. plain. quality. end stop. Write good quality content and AI will use your content as an answer to fuel Generative AI Search.
>> We are moving away from keywords as Generative AI Search will show results for search INTENT not just matching keywords.
Generative AI Search.
Instead of showing links of all of the businesses where the user can go 'investigate' and research the results on their own hoping for an answer, now AI wants to give you the answer first. (read more here)
But where is AI getting the answers? From sites, so if you write good content, you can be a possible reference.
This also means that because the answers are at the forefront, you will likely be getting less traffic to your site from Google searches.
Social Search.
Why leave Tiktok if you can get the answers in the app? How often have you seen someone on Facebook say 'can anyone recommend a ________" and 40 comments of people sharing recommendations follows?
People no longer need to leave what they are doing and move to another app, especially since their mindset has changed
Not only that but on social we can use tools like Hashtags to search areas, restaurants, services etc to see what others have shared, providing social credibility and real-life reviews.
Reddit is a really popular platform where peers share options and thoughts about places, products and services and it offers additional insights beyond reviews.
Mindset Change.
People trust strangers before they trust ads. If Google search is going to prioritize ads, we would rather get our info from strangers on social media.
We don't know if we can trust Google reviews, but we can trust people who have made a video or post, without being paid, to promote their experience somewhere.
There are other options.
This is one of the first years that BING has increased in search and Google has declined. (read more here) There are options, and if Google is removed as the default on Apple devices we could see an even bigger shift. Speaking of Apple, they have their own Apple Business Manager, perhaps set up to eventually rival Google Business Manager.
What do you do now?
Get back to the basics
Get back to meeting people, going out and participating in the community, networking and sponsoring. People trust what they see regularly as well, you can build trust.
This may not be a great way to scale but if you are a local small business this can be a great way to go beyond depending on inbound from your website and diversifying.
Social.
Build your profile on social media, choose the platforms that work best to reach your target customer and commit to being consistent on these platforms. Offer value, offer insight and position yourself as a leader in your area.
Grow your referral strategy.
Referrals are always the best strategy, consider how to grow your referral base and create an additional inbound source of leads.
Update your website content.
Rewrite your popular content republish with updates and re-write your website to benefit your reader. The better your content, the more likely you are to convert your customers and get references in Generative AI Search.
Keep trying new things.
Go where you think the internet and your consumer is going, too many people are focused on what worked before and are not paying attention to where it's going. That could mean incorporating AI or trying a new platform, don't be afraid to change and adjust -- you could just end up ahead of your competition.
The internet is changing faster than ever, now is the time to think about what your strategy is going forward.
If you would like to talk about your website and how you can incorporate new concepts, consumer insight and creativity into it, let's chat.
Julie Boake
be awesome!
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