Data-Driven Analysis Confirms Keyword Patterns in Google AIO Align with Digital Marketers’ Observations.

BrightEdge’s latest research uncovers significant shifts in site visibility through Google’s AI Overviews search feature. While Google maintains its search market share, the data indicates that the AI search engine Perplexity is rapidly gaining traction.

Rapid & Dramatic Changes In AIO Triggers

The triggers for AI Overviews are evolving at an astonishing rate. Keywords that drove AI Overviews in June may have shifted significantly by July. For example, keywords featuring the word “best” saw a 50% increase in triggering AIOs, but this trend seems to have reversed as such phrases no longer appear to trigger AIOs for products in July.

Other AIO trigger trends for June 2024 include:

• A 20% increase in “What Is” keywords
• A 15% rise in “How to” queries
• A 12% uptick in queries with “symptoms of”
• A 10% increase in queries containing the word “treatment.”

BrightEdge provided insight into changes in ecommerce search queries:

“AI’s role in e-commerce is expanding rapidly, with nearly a 20% increase in e-commerce keywords triggering AI Overviews since early July and a dramatic 62.6% rise compared to the last week of June. Additionally, there is a notable 66.67% increase in product searches that feature pros and cons from AI Overviews. This trend highlights a greater integration of AI in ecommerce search results and a move towards more comprehensive and useful consumer information through features like pros/cons modules.”

Google Search And AI Trends

BrightEdge has leveraged its proprietary BrightEdge Generative Parser™ (BGP) tool to uncover key search trends that could shape digital marketing strategies for the remainder of 2024. The BGP tool analyzes vast search trend data and converts it into actionable insights.

Their research suggests that each percentage point of search market share equates to approximately $1.2 billion, making even modest gains highly significant.

Jim Yu, who is founder and executive chairman of BrightEdge, commented:

“Google’s dominance remains robust, and its developments in AI are crucial for businesses and marketers worldwide. However, new entrants are establishing themselves as we transition into an AI-driven multi-search landscape. AI continuously evolves, so marketers should utilize precise insights to monitor, anticipate changes, and adapt strategies accordingly. Google continues to lead with around 92% of organic search referrals. AI competitors have yet to significantly impact search traffic, debunking concerns that they might erode Google’s search traffic share.”

Massive Decrease In Reddit & Quora Referrals

As of May 2024, Google has significantly changed its AI Overviews search feature, notably reducing the prominence of user-generated content (UGC). UGC has been criticized for producing poor-quality responses and attracting negative attention. BrightEdge’s research reveals that referrals to Reddit and Quora from AI Overviews plummeted to “near zero” in June. Specifically, citations to Quora dropped by 99.69%, while Reddit saw a substantial decline of 85.71%.

BrightEdge’s report highlights:

“Google is shifting its focus towards established, expert content, moving away from user discussions and forums.”

Bing, Perplexity, And Chatbot Impact

Bing’s market share has modestly increased from 4.2% to 4.5%. While this growth is incremental, any progress is better than stagnation.

In contrast, Perplexity is experiencing a notable 31% monthly growth rate. However, with a small base, a 31% increase still represents a modest figure. Most publishers haven’t highlighted the traffic from Perplexity, indicating that while growth is positive, the overall impact is still limited. Chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT don’t contribute significantly to referral traffic, as their primary functions don’t focus on driving users to websites. Data shows minimal traffic coming from these chatbots.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT obscures referral data using the rel=noreferrer HTML attribute, complicating tracking traffic it sends to websites. This attribute, which is standard for privacy and security, prevents the visibility of traffic sources. Despite this, BrightEdge anticipates that as LLMs (large language models) continue to evolve, their referral traffic will grow and become a more significant factor for marketers.

BrightEdge concludes:

“Currently, the volume of referrals from LLMs is minimal and unlikely to impact the industry significantly. However, if this steady growth persists, it could influence online search behaviors and shape how brands optimize for different search engines.”

Just as many initially underestimated the mobile internet’s potential before the iPhone, BrightEdge’s perspective on LLMs suggests future developments could be more impactful than they appear today.

With AIO trends shifting rapidly in July, keeping data current is crucial for adapting to these changes. BrightEdge provides real-time updates daily to help marketers make well-informed decisions.

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