A Small Business Guide to Google AI Overview (AIO)

The days of scrolling through Google search results to find an answer you are looking for are numbered. With Google AI Overview (AIO) a lot of the questions you may have are now answered at the top of your search results by AI. Google’s AI Overviews have both pluses and minuses for small businesses and also raises a number of questions for small businesses and their online communication strategies. Let’s dig into it.

What are Google AI Overviews?

Google’s AI Overviews are the summary answers you’ll often see at the top of your search results when using Google Search. They don’t pop up for every search you make on Google but they’ll commonly come up for questions, requests for definitions and comparisons, and when you are looking to solve a specific problem. The AIO results are concise and provide links and sometimes visuals as well.

Will AIO Link to Information from my Small Business?

At the end of sentences and bullet points in an AI Overview, you’ll often see links to websites with more information. But can your small business website appear on an AI Overview? The simple answer is yes. However, the more nuanced answer is that it largely depends on whether Google views you as an authority on the AIO subject matter in question.

There is no surefire way to get your website to appear on AI Overview but the principles to up your chances are the same as the principles for getting people to click on your website in the first place. Is your content high-quality? Are you providing helpful answers to questions people have? Have you established yourself as a trusted authority with Google by posting content that you are knowledgeable in consistently and using relevant keywords?

If you want your small business to be picked up in AIO results, focus on building organic traffic to your website first.

Will AIO Result In Less Traffic To My Website?

If most of the content on your website is answers to how-to questions, definitions, and comparisons then you may see a dip in traffic to your website. That’s because AI Overview frequently posts about these topics and searchers may be able to get all the answers they need from the AIO rather than clicking on links or doing further research. However, if your content answers questions specific to a local area or specific to your brand– that’s a space AIO hasn’t got heavily involved in yet.

Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean all your small business content should be brand or local query focused. It just means for the content on your website that AIO covers, you’ll want to focus on becoming the “expert” in that area so AIO uses you as a linked source.

How Do I Know If My Small Business Appears In AIO Results?

Some AI tracking tools like SEMRush claim to be able to track your visibility in AI Overview results. However, AIO results change frequently and tracking tools are expensive and not always the most accurate.

One of the best ways to find out how often you are appearing in Google AI Overviews is through a manual tracking process. Pick target queries and check on them every once in a while. This will show if you are ranking for a certain question and if you aren’t, you’ll be able to see who is. Even if your small business isn’t ranking, tracking is still worth your time. It can give you a better idea of how to improve your small business’ AI visibility because you’ll see what the competition is doing that’s working!

How Do I Use AI Overviews to Grow My Small Business?

406 Strategic Communications can assist you in using the latest AI technology to improve your marketing and strategic communications strategy. We can work with you to increase your appearances on AIO searches as well as appear at the top of search results that don’t yet provide AI Overviews. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation to learn more.

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