Google’s introduction of its AI Overview search feature last year has led to a sharp reduction in web traffic for many sites. Users now often find that the generative AI effectively answers their basic questions, so they no longer click on any other search results that would generate additional traffic.
With AI Overview, about 18% of all Google searches now provide an AI summary, according to new findings from Pew Research. And when an AI summary appears, traditional search results are only clicked 8% of the time.
Losing a substantial amount of website traffic can be startling. But we have found that there are ways to adapt your online strategy and your thinking to compensate for the loss and make it an advantage.
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
Website traffic numbers only tell us a part of the story. We have other tools in our communications toolbox that can give us even more insight into our online success. We suggest putting more emphasis on other Google Analytics metrics going forward.
For instance, has the time spent on your website increased? What about the number of pages viewed per session? Despite the loss in raw numbers, we are often seeing more “high-quality” visitors to our clients’ websites – people who are looking for more than just a quick answer and who are more likely to want to engage with your content in a meaningful way.
This could actually result in a higher conversion rate, representing the number of users who complete a “call to action,” such as subscribing to a newsletter, becoming a member of a professional association, or completing a survey. A higher conversion rate means that you are now reaching a higher percentage of your target audience.
Continually Optimize Your Content for Google’s Advanced Algorithm
Google’s algorithm now understands semantic meaning better than ever. So, instead of just focusing on exact match keywords, we find it can be helpful to research common questions that people tend to ask online and develop new content to answer those questions.
We use this approach for one of our clients by developing monthly blog topics that directly answer questions people are searching related to health and well-being. The monthly posting of content wins us points with Google’s algorithm and the direct response to trending questions helps ensure our content is seen – including in the Google AI Overview section. In fact, our content has been cited in more than 30 of Google’s AI Overview and other search engine results page (SERP) features because of our work in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Increase Your Perceived Authority Score through SEO
Despite the advent of AI, our SEO efforts still make a difference when we can increase our clients’ perceived authority score. The classic SEO formula for bolstering one’s rating — E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) still matters!
We achieve this goal by strengthening our clients’ thought leadership profile and overall brand awareness. Being cited by third-party authoritative sites, such as top-tier news media outlets or organizational websites, increases our clients’ EEAT score. Investing in PR or thought leadership will help you land credible backlinks and media mentions, building authority with your audience as well as Google’s algorithm.
We are working on this approach with a CEO in the healthcare industry. We’ve helped build his presence on LinkedIn, launched a new website, and placed op-eds in industry trade media outlets – all with the goal to increase his perceived authority as an industry thought leader.
While we are speaking to his target audience, the work we are doing for his online presence is also helping to increase traffic to his personal website and his company’s.
Ensure all your channels are linked
By bolstering your organization’s other sources of traffic, such as your newsletter or social media platforms, you can maintain a steady stream of website visitors. These resources will often attract more valuable “high quality” visitors because they are already interested or, perhaps even committed to your content or mission.
We recently worked with a professional association on a social media influencer campaign aimed at dispelling health misinformation and raising awareness of the increasing burden of irritable bowel diseases. We identified influencers with personal experience with IBD and had already earned the trust of their audience as a reliable source of health information. When the influencers shared our client’s resources on their sites, it generated highly valuable referral traffic to the client website because these new visitors were already motivated and receptive.
As health care public relations professionals, it is our job to help our clients stay ahead of the changing landscape and strengthen their online reputations. These are four simple ways you can begin adapting your online strategy today.
