In a new LinkedIn post, Philip Petrescu, a Berlin digital engineer, found that the majority of webpages cited in AI Overviews aren’t top-ranking sites. In fact, most of them “are nowhere to be found in the top 50 search results.”
Why Aren’t Top-Ranking Sites Cited in AI Overviews?
With AI Overviews, the feature isn’t looking for top-ranking webpages; it’s looking for the ones that sound good & provide quality information. A good rule to follow here: The better you sound, the better you’ll rank in Overviews.
What About Zero-Click Rates? Doesn’t AI Overviews Increase Them?
Zero-click rates are on the rise, not just with AI Overviews, but with everything else, too. In a 2024 Sparktoro study, the audience research company discovered that for “every 1,000 Google Searches in the US, roughly 360 clicks go to the open web.” To break down the remaining 640 searches, over 37% of them lead to “nothing” (or the browsing search ends), and 21.4% of them result in another Google search. Together, they make up 58.5% of all Google searches, which end as a “zero-click search.”
While you can’t escape “zero-click searches”, you can use them to your benefit. According to Philip Petrescu, the digital engineer, “80% of consumers now rely on “zero-click” results for at least 40% of their searches.” For this reason, you should take what you can get to get your brand’s name out there.
How Do I Start Ranking in AI Overviews?
As we mentioned earlier, it’s all about how you sound. The more you sound like an expert, the better your chances are of ranking in AI Overviews. If you think your content doesn’t need any more tweaking, here are some other ways you can get ranked in AI Overviews:
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Work on your Schema Markup: By improving your schema markup, you can help Google better understand your webpage’s content, leading to higher rankings.
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Include Multi-Media: When looking for pages to cite from, AI Overviews look at text, images, videos, and infographics. Be sure not to disqualify your webpage by only having text content.
Ready to Start Ranking in AI Overviews? Contact Boston Web Marketing, New England’s Largest Independent Digital Marketing Company!
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