What is AI Overviews? Strategies for Ranking Higher in Search Results!

Understanding Google AI Overviews ranking factors, citation mechanisms, and optimization tactics for generative search.

Speakers: Samet Özsüleyman, Metehan Urhan

11 Jun 2024

Video Transcript

⏱ 21 min read• 3,671 words

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— Hi everyone. Welcome to a new Zeo Talks. Today, Samet and I are discussing Google AI Overview. We’ll cover the basics. What is it? What can you do? Where are the SEO opportunities? We’ll cover a lot today. Samet, welcome.

— Thanks, Mete. We swapped roles. You’re the moderator today. I’m ready for your questions.

— Right. We’ve filmed before. You were the one asking questions. Today, I’m asking. Samet will answer. I’ll just tag along. Samet is one of our SEO team leads. He’s deep into Google AI Overview research and analysis. He’s running active projects. He’s building reports and analysis. That’s why he’s our guest. How are you doing, Samet? How’s it going?

— I’m good. It’s standard. Since AI Overview launched, we’re hunting for insights. Where can we win? We had a Google update recently. Plus, new Search Console features. I’m focused on getting my clients an extra edge. We’re constantly generating reports and running analyses on these topics. It’s an ongoing process.

— It’s a brand new topic, especially for Turkish search results. There are so many questions and a lot of curiosity. We’ll definitely have more concrete data in the future. But we have plenty to discuss based on today’s results. Let’s dive right in without wasting time.

— Sure thing.

— Since some viewers might be new to this, let’s start with the basics. Let’s begin with what Google AI Overview actually is.

— Sure. First, we should mention that Google AI Overview was originally called SGE. Google rebranded it later. It’s a mouthful, so we just call it AI Overview.

— That’s why we always use the full name.

— Exactly. I hope we pronounce it right. AI Overview started in English for US search. Then it expanded to Spanish and other languages. Finally, it launched in Turkish a few months ago. It’s a SERP feature. Google uses Generative AI to show summaries in search. Say you search for "what helps a stomach ache." If the query fits. Google shows an AI Overview. It provides high-quality data directly in the search results. This feature explains how to treat the pain. It lists medications. It even includes links to hospitals or clinics for appointments.

Basically, it’s AI integrated into search. That’s the best way to sum it up.

— It actually arrived in Turkish sooner than expected. It’s still rolling out. Is it still in the testing phase?

— It’s the same everywhere. We used to check English queries. We looked at which keywords triggered AI Overview. We wondered if our clients were ready for Turkish. We did some research. We checked English and Spanish results. AI Overview must be live in that country. We translated those to predict Turkish triggers. The results are mostly the same in Turkish. One thing caught my eye. Some URLs in the AI Overview SERV feature are dead. Imagine a URL that 404'd five months ago. It seems to pull old URLs too. Sometimes multiple URLs from one site appear in the SERV feature. This might change in the future.

We are all still learning. We are figuring out where to take action. We are just chasing these opportunities.

— What do you think about the density? Is it more or less than you expected?

— Honestly, it feels limited right now. It’s not in every query. It’s not in every sector. This might change as query volume grows. It depends on Google understanding pages better. Or maybe there aren't enough sites hitting Google's quality threshold yet. We see it in many queries. But the density varies by sector. We see it a lot in health. We don't see it as much in e-commerce. Or in breaking news. It’s less frequent when people need real-time updates. Here is my answer. Everyone should analyze their own sector. Check what percentage of queries trigger an AI Overview. That’s the first thing that comes to mind.

Say I’m in news or e-commerce. I’d take 10,000 keywords. I’d plug them into the Ahrefs database. I’d check how many AI Overview sonuçları pop up. I’d look at the percentage of sites featured there. I’d look at metrics like that. That gives me a solid read on my sector.

— Like you said, the density will shift. Stay alert. Let’s save the optimization talk for later. It’s a crucial topic. Quick question: Is there a link between search volume and position in AI Overview sonuçları? What’s the deal with those results? What are you seeing?

— We see AI Overview results for many long-tail queries. These have very low search volume. You can track this via Ahrefs or Semrush data. Think 0-10 search volume. Usually, you ignore these in standard SEO. You skip low-volume keywords. But now? They’re actually becoming much more valuable. In short, stop chasing high search volume. Focus on long-tail queries. Target user intent and relevant topics for AI Overview. We see this pattern constantly. AI Overview triggers more often on long-tail, low-volume queries. Also, consider your ranking. Let’s say you search for "dress." I’m not even in the top 10.

I’m nowhere near the top 5. Yet, I can still appear in AI Overview. Ranking and AI Overview are different beasts. You don't need top rankings to show up in AI Overview. Even a keyword on page 4 can show up in AI Overview. You really need to check these details. Optimize for user intent. That’s how you win.

— Exactly. It doesn't just pull from the top 10. If your content answers the question, it can cite you. Even if you're ranked 15th.

— For sure. You can show up even from page 5. You know your position. You don't need high rankings for AI Overview. You have a great shot even with low-ranking keywords.

— Awesome, thanks. You touched on this, but measurement is key. How can brands track these AI Overview results? You mentioned Ahrefs, but let's dive deeper.

— Sure. As of this video, Search Console doesn't track this. What can you do? Look at long-tail impressions. Use regex in Search Console to filter keyword counts. You can try to map that to AI Overview results. But there’s no official module yet. Google says updates are coming. We just don't know when. For now, you need third-party tools. Let's start here. You track keywords with a rank tracker. If you use SEO Monitor, it shows you the data. Say you track 1,000 keywords. Maybe 50 have an AI Overview. You can see if you rank in 30 of them.

Track your keywords this way first. You can also use tools like Ahrefs and Semrush. Use two strategies for your analysis. First, enter your site into Ahrefs Site Explorer. Click Organic Keywords. Filter by the AI Overview SERP feature. See which keywords you rank for. Check how many keywords in your niche have them. Use Site Explorer to track that growth over time. It's a fact. It just launched in Turkey. The graph will look high. Choose your date ranges carefully. Interpret the data accordingly. Also, check industry-related keywords in Keyword Explorer.

Search for "dress," for example. Which related keywords trigger an AI Overview? What is my position there? Let's stick with Ahrefs. Go to Target Positions. It shows your exact ranking. You can check there. Semrush is also an option. I believe Semrush offers more AI Overview data than Ahrefs right now. Blend these two tools. Build your strategy based on that. See exactly where you rank. Check which keywords you're losing in AI Overview. Keyword volume is key here. Track traffic from AI Overview. Use this data to build a strategy. Perform a status or sector analysis.

You can do this right now. Nothing is stopping you. Start using these tools today.

— Off-topic, but a quick question. People are probably wondering this. Are these results personalized? If I search for blood pressure remedies. Could I get an AI Overview while you don't? Have you noticed any changes in the results?

— Oh, definitely. It changes based on the user. Great setup. Let me pivot to AI mode. Google announced this recently. Users will soon be able to search using only AI mode. This means a search screen showing only AI results. It will be personalized. If I search for football, you'll see Galatasaray results. I'll see Samsunspor results. We have different interests and vocabularies. We’ll see different search results in the future. Google is prioritizing personalization. We’re heading toward that world. We need to keep users engaged. Mete, here’s a thought. If you rely too much on AI Overview. You’ll take a hit when things go wrong. You’ll lose traffic.

You need to boost traffic from other channels. SEO is vital. But grow your social media traffic too. It helps offset potential losses. Organic is key. But diversify your traffic sources. Cover your losses from AI Overview or any update with other channels. That’s my advice.

— What about clicks? That’s the big question. Does AI Overview impact clicks? It definitely does. To what extent? What do the latest studies say?

— I read it last week. I think it was press gazete.co.uk. By the way, is my audio echoing on your end?

— Nope.

— Great. I think it was in Press Gazette. Maybe co.uk. I don't recall the exact source. It says publisher sites see a 40% CTR drop. We see this in Search Console now. Impressions are up YOY, but clicks aren't coming. We're heading toward a period of rising impressions but falling clicks. There are many different cases here. CTR drops vary by sector. Every industry is affected differently. My source mentioned a potential 40% negative impact on CTR. This leads directly to click loss. CTR and click losses depend on the sector and site. We're preparing for this new reality. KPIs might need to be adjusted accordingly.

Organic clicks matter. But if you get irrelevant blog traffic, clicks go up. I think KPIs must change. Instead of just organic clicks, maybe track my query count in AI Overview. Or check my status on Perplexity. We need to shift our strategy and perspective. We've entered a very different world compared to last year.

— Absolutely. Especially when setting 2025 KPIs. AI Overview sonuçları definitely impacts those projections. You might need to revise them mid-year.

— Sorry to interrupt, Mete. I just remembered something. I read an article about this. Publishers abroad are really feeling the impact. They’re reporting significant revenue losses. No clicks mean no ad impressions. AdSense revenue will drop. Perplexity has some licensing deals with publishers. They’re building a new revenue model. If you’re a publisher, look into these LLM revenue streams. Maybe sign a licensing deal. It helps optimize income and minimize losses.

— That’s great advice for publishers. We touched on this earlier. What’s the current accuracy rate of AI Overview sonuçları? Have you spotted any bugs or errors?

— Oh, definitely. I’ve seen plenty in Turkish. People abroad tweet about errors instantly. I don’t have an exact percentage in mind. Maybe 10% of UK queries have issues. It might hallucinate or give wrong info. But it worked pretty well in Turkish. They played it safe. At least it cites sources well. I don't see an issue there. I still see some bad results. For example, search for visa rules in country X. It says 30 days. But it’s actually 60. I’ve seen cases where the freshness is lacking.

That happens. Also, I recall a statement from John. Sites with manual actions could still appear in AI Overview. I haven't checked that in a while. Those cases exist. Like I mentioned earlier, even 404 pages show up in AI Overview. Hopefully, they fix that soon. If a site has a manual action, it shouldn't be in AI Overview. That’s a major issue. It means the site is low quality or violates spam policies. Yet, it still appears in AI Overview. You need to watch out for this. Build your strategy accordingly. That’s the smart move.

— For publishers, freshness is key. Users complain about this constantly. Like when it snows and they ask if schools are closed. News sites spam hundreds of pages in an hour. How fast can AI actually react to this? This will definitely improve in the future. But as you said, we must avoid giving users wrong or misleading info.

— Exactly. I read about a new SERV feature recently. Google is testing a "tab source" option. It lets users choose their preferred news outlets. You can add sites you follow to your account. It shows up in search results. It looks like a dedicated section for your followed sources. You see those alongside Google's default results. Maybe AI Overview will evolve toward this kind of personalization.

— Okay. We covered the basics. Now, how should brands prepare? What are the current optimization opportunities for AI Overview? Let's start with a general overview. Then we can dive into the technical and content side.

— Sure. First off, we aren't splitting atoms here. At the end of the day, it's just work. No need to overcomplicate it. First, check which queries trigger AI Overview results in your sector. See which keywords your page ranks for. Don't touch what's already working. If you're lagging behind competitors, optimize your content accordingly. I'll tie this into vector embedding now. Here's the issue. If you over-optimize based on tool analysis, you run into trouble. John mentioned this on BlueSky recently. You might end up with keyword stuffing.

If you just spam "dress" or "dress prices" to get a better score, you're done. Your page might violate spam guidelines. You end up hurting quality while trying to improve it. Focus on creating high-quality content first. Meet the user's needs directly. You can even update your FAQ sections for seasonal trends. Create specific FAQs for holidays or peak shopping periods. Answer your existing FAQs clearly. For example, how long is a Thailand visa? Don't beat around the bush. Give direct, precise answers for different passport types. Feed this to Google AI. The bot will understand it perfectly. You'll have a much better chance of ranking in AI Overview.

Don't hesitate to link to extra sources. Say you have content on traffic fines. You got that info somewhere, right? The legal penalty is set by the state. The fine amount is fixed. Cite your sources for things like red light violations. Be clear when linking to external resources. Unless it’s a personal blog, avoid subjective language. We often say things like "seatbelts are important." Use objective language instead. Do you have data for your claims? If you say 3 out of 10 people, what is your source?

Don't be afraid to link out, especially for health topics like stomach pain. Linking out is a common struggle in Turkish SEO. If you're worried, just use nofollow. But please, link to a source. Another method is optimizing your Structured Data. Google updates its schema every two months. They add membership features and update organization schema for e-commerce. Product schema gets new features constantly. Help LLMs crawl and understand your content. Ensure your JavaScript rendering is solid. Google bot must crawl your pages perfectly. These are basic SEO, crawling, and indexing methods. I’m just reframing them for AI Overview. If we optimize these fundamentals, we’ll see great results in AI Overview.

Technically, don't block anything in robots.txt. Optimize your content accordingly. Optimize your heading tags, too. Use meaningful terms instead of fluff. Focus on long-tail keywords. Maybe only 10 people search for them. But your revenue and conversion will be much higher. Optimize for these factors. You’ll have a much better chance of appearing in AI Overview.

— Great points. You touched on the technical side. Let’s discuss the relationship between content and AI Overview. I saw something on LinkedIn recently. In SEO, the old strategy was 10x content on a single page. Now, it’s about horizontal expansion. This helps Google and AI better understand your content. Does that logic make sense to you? Do you agree? Should people create separate pages for low-volume FAQ queries? How does that fit into your content strategy?

— If it's relevant, definitely include that content as an FAQ. It doesn't have to be a formal FAQ. It can just be a heading tag. Use whatever context fits the page. Sometimes content alone isn't enough. Add a video to boost the page. Include an infographic. Use extra implementations to improve the content. Add a table. Use bullet points to make the article more readable. Improve your product features. Use your internal site search terms. What are users searching for on your e-commerce site? We check search volume, but those are third-party tools.

You have your own data. You know exactly what your users want. I would start by leveraging that internal data. Check your customer service logs. What issues are your customers facing? Address those complaints. Users search Google for brand issues anyway. They will land on your domain. You have a high chance of ranking there. Focus on negative topics like returns and complaints, not just the positives. Optimizing content this way will get you better results. Just remember one thing. AI handles a lot, but you need a human eye. Always verify if the content is actually readable and useful.

Like you said, we grab FAQs and add them to the page. Suddenly, the page's n-gram changes. Say you have a page about history books. You keep stuffing "history books" in there. You ask, "Who are the best history writers in Turkey?" It happens. You keep writing "history book" over and over. You can tell it's keyword stuffing just by reading it. Optimize for natural language flow instead. Keep it conversational. Always think about the user. Forget Yoast SEO or other WordPress plugin scores. Ask yourself: "Would I share this page with a friend?" "Do I trust the info on this page?".

You have to look at these things. Even with great content, I’ll tie this to EAT. Is your About page clear? Can I reach someone if there’s an issue? Does the site have a physical office? Who wrote or reviewed this article? Are they real people? When was it last updated? Take traffic fines, for example. You write the fine amount, but it might be two years old. Consider every detail. Combine EAT with your content for better results. Take action based on these factors. Don't rush into things.

Moving too fast makes you miss things. I always break it down. We’re consultants. Clients need time to execute. Don't dump 10,000 URLs on them. Start with 100 or 1,000 URLs. Let’s start there. Optimize heading tags first. Focus on the content I mentioned. Maybe we messed up the FAQ. Or we finished the content updates. Then I see the n-gram is off. Trigrams might show different results. Let’s optimize those. Breaking down content work helps. You’ll feel better. You’ll see the impact much more clearly.

After an optimization, log it. Use SEO Monitor or a similar tool. Note the date. Track the impact. See how it affects AI Overview or organic traffic. That’s how you should move forward.

— Awesome. Thanks for the insights. Anything else to add? That covers my questions for today.

— Honestly, no. Mete, we learn new things every day. I’ve spent hours just to get one insight from those results. There’s so much being shared in the industry. We follow the English content closely. We see some Turkish content too. We'll learn as we go. Like I said, results 4 and up are still in AI Overview. Who knows what else is coming. The process will keep evolving. AI Overview might look different soon. The number of links could change or increase. I forgot to mention this. You can group traffic from Perplexity or Gemini in GA4.

Track that traffic now. It's under 0.05% in Analytics. Still, it's worth watching. Check your logs for ChatGPT or Gemini user agents. See how often AI crawlers hit your pages. Analyze these requests beyond just AI Overview. Take notes from that data.

— Exactly. There's a lot to do now. We'll get clearer insights later. We'll have better data and actionable advice soon. At ZEO, we've tracked Generative AI closely since 2023. We provide AI consulting and training. We use that experience to boost our SEO services. Samet leads our SEO team in applying these insights. Reach out anytime if you have questions. We’re here to help.

— Exactly. Let me add one more thing. We can set up some automations. Say you have a page ranking well in AI Overview. Think of a SaaS project. That page shows up in AI Overview for many queries. You can use tools like N8N for this. If that page has a technical issue, get an email alert immediately. In short, we can use various automations to minimize errors. We use different tools to help everyone out here.

— Exactly. As I said. If you have any needs regarding AI Overview or Generative AI. We are open to new projects. At ZEO, we are really excited about this service. We have been active in this space for two years. New projects really excite us. Samet, it has been half an hour. Anything you want to add or correct?

— Not really. Like you said, we are constantly analyzing. When AI Overview first launched, we saw many translate.google results. That number dropped later. We might see more Reddit results now. Like I said, we’re constantly analyzing. We share every insight internally. We’re tracking the whole process closely.

— Right. There will definitely be new updates soon. We’ll keep you posted via our blog and new ZEO Talks. Thanks for the great insights, Samet. That’s a wrap for today. Thanks for watching. Subscribe to the ZEO YouTube channel. Like this video. Drop your questions and comments below. Thanks again. See you in the next ZEO Talks.

This transcript was generated using AI speech recognition and verified against subtitle style rules.

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