Three-quarters of the links cited in Google AI Overview appear in position 12 or higher in the organic search results. That’s according to a new analysis of more than 120,000 search queries from enterprise SEO platforms Botify and DemandSphere.
Why we care. Getting visibility and clicks from Google Search is increasingly difficult, especially with AI Overviews and featured snippets occupying the most valuable SERP real estate. By focusing on the SEO fundamentals, which you likely are anyway, and analyzing the content of AI Overviews, you may have a better chance of appearing in AI Overviews.
High cosine similarity. According to the report:
“Our cosine similarity analysis showed a distinct correlation between the semantic similarity of linked websites and the AI-generated text of the AI Overview itself. Essentially, the closer your content satisfies the same consumer intent and need as the AI Overview’s summary, the more likely it is to be cited and linked.”
Dig deeper. How to leverage cosine similarity for ecommerce SEO
But (correlation is not causation). As with most things Google Search and many SEO studies that have been published over the years, it is impossible to say that ranking in position 12 or higher is the reason why a page gets included as an AI Overview.
I’m extremely wary of their seemingly definitive conclusion that “To be selected as a linked source within an AI Overview, your site should be ranking within the top 12 organic positions for the term.”
What’s more likely is that Google’s AI Overviews and core search algorithm want to give searchers what Google deems to be the “best” answer to a given query.
By the numbers. Other findings from the research:
AI Overviews appeared on 47.4% of queries.
AI Overviews and featured snippets combined to occupy 75.7% of screen real estate on mobile and 67.1% on desktop.
AI Overviews were present for 59% of informational queries and 19% of commercial queries.
The report. AI Overviews Study: Inside Google’s New Search Reality (registration required)
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About the author
Danny Goodwin is Editorial Director of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as Senior Editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s SME (Subject Matter Expert) program. He also helps program U.S. SMX events. Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He previously was Executive Editor of Search Engine Journal (from 2017 to 2022), managing editor of Momentology (from 2014-2016) and editor of Search Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at many major search conferences and virtual events, and has been sourced for his expertise by a wide range of publications and podcasts.