SEO is constantly changing. Search engines like Google are bringing out new algorithm updates on the regular, improving the user's experience more and more.
This year hasn’t been any different. AI tools are now available, search engines are using AI, and, most importantly, the public is now using AI.
Without question, this has created some huge trends for all industries, and enterprise SEO is no different.
Top 6 Trends for Enterprise SEO
AI Overviews (SGE)
For enterprise SEO, Google’s new AI-powered search feature will introduce a “new” type of SEO.
Instead of the standard SERPs, where you get a list of websites, map packs, etc., above all of this will be an AI-generated overview.
We believe that this change will reduce SERP clicks. Others believe this also.
Search Engine Land suggests that AI will reduce organic CTR by 60%. In another study by Gilad David Maayan, he discovered a 18-64% decrease in organic traffic when an AI overview appeared on a search.
At the moment, these overviews only appear 15% of the time. However, this will change in the future.
This will change enterprise SEO completely. Instead of solely focusing on SEO, enterprises will need to focus on AEO, so they can appear in the AI search results. We can imagine that this will be the new number one spot.
Zero-Click Searches
Search engines like Google make their money from users searching on their platform. Because of this, to make more money, they need users to use their platform more.
One way they’re going to do this is through more Zero-Click Search features. These are features like a map pack, FAQs, AI overviews, knowledge panels, calculators, etc. Put simply, it’s when a user searches a query and Google answers it on Google’s search engine.
In a recent study by SEMRush, they found that the zero-clicks share on mobile is 57%, showcasing its significance.
Like the first trend, this trend will require enterprise SEOs to optimise for these zero-click features - FAQs, AI overviews, knowledge panels, etc - which mostly are achievable through quality content, updated content, data markup, and building authority.
Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)
AEO is the process of improving a website's content to provide direct answers to search queries. These can appear in the “People also ask” section
That’s not all, either. These answers can also appear in AI generative tools like ChatGPT and Bard.
Alongside the above, it’ll also help with AI voice search, which is something that 25% of individuals from Western countries use multiple times a day.
Because of these reasons is why AEO is going to be very popular for enterprise SEO. Instead of just showing up in standard SERPs, you can appear in generative AI tools, FAQ packs, and even via voice search.
Establishing Topical Authority
Topical authority is an SEO concept that measures how relevant and trusted a platform is with a specific subject. For instance, the website you’re on now, we want a high SEO topical authority.
In the past, now, and in the future topical authority will play a role in SEO. It doesn’t matter how you look at it. From an AI overview, AEO, or SEO point of view, all of these areas require the website to be of quality.
It’s so important that 88% of SEOs believe that topical authority is very important. Because of this, we believe that this will continue to be a trend in SEO.
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Leveraging AI-Powered Tools
40% of global companies are using AI in their business. There are no signs of slowing down, either. The sector itself is projected to grow at 37.3% between 2024 to 2030.
The nice part of AI, however, is that it’s affordable, scalable, and fast for non-complexed tasks. This will change overtime. Even now, a lot of SEO tools have AI features.
For example, Ahrefs has a bunch of AI writing tools. These are only basic tools like outline generators, rewriters, etc., but it can save you a lot of time.
SEMRush, on the other hand, has incorporated Copilot to their all-in-one SEO tool. This gives users an AI-powered SEO assistant that can help with various SEO-based activities.
This will help enterprise SEO campaigns dramatically. It can help save time on tedious tasks while improving SEO tools, like SEMRush, so we can get more out of them.
Being Careful of AI-Powered Tools
More and more enterprise SEO campaigns will use SEO tools. However, many SEOs are also going to be careful about the AI tools they use.
Why? The main reasons for this is because of the latest Google Core update in August
Because of AI writing tools, a lot of content has been crawled and indexed by Google. Unfortunately, a lot of poorly-written or structured content doesn't benefit the searchers' intent.
The update in August was to improve the quality of search results or, in other words, reduce the amount of spam content on Google.
Those performing enterprise SEO need to find a balance. A balance between AI and humans. This will be the number one way to produce quality content that’s built for humans and not search engines.
Future Prediction on Enterprise SEO Trends
No matter how you look at it, it’s safe to say that the future of enterprise SEO is AI.
There are two ways this will impact SEO:
- AI Overviews.
- AEO in generative AI tools.
AI overviews will decrease organic CTR. It’ll be the new number one spot for the SERPs. We can imagine, however, that the CTR for AI overviews will be pretty high.
As time goes on, more people will use generative AI tools to search and compare products, companies, etc.
For example, if we type in “The best all in one SEO tool” into ChatGPT, here are the results we get:
As you can see, it recommended some tools to us. The main two being SEMRush and Ahrefs.
This brings us a different type of optimisation. We shouldn’t just optimise for SEO but also external AI generative tools that access the internet to produce answers.
How to Stay Ahead of Enterprise SEO Trends
A lot is going to change in our world and SEO is one of them. Here’s how you can stay ahead of the curve and meet the changing demands.
1. Monitor Algorithm Updates
First, you need to be staying updated with the latest algorithm updates. You can find all of Google updates on their Google Search Central Blog.
You have a few different SEO news websites as well. However, Google’s Blog is the most trusted. It comes from the source, so everything published is factual and correct.
2. Leverage AI for SOME Tasks
If you haven’t already, it’s time to start using AI for some tasks. For example, if you use SEMRush to create your enterprise campaigns, consider using their CoPilot AI features.
Alongside this, you can also look at using AI for more tedious tasks. Such tasks as blogger outreach are good. You can still customise the message, just write them faster, or, even better, outsource it to a less qualified individual and still get a good result.
3. Focus on E-E-A-T
This was once, E-A-T, but now it’s E-E-A-T, otherwise known as experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
These are what Google calls “Quality Raters” in their Search Quality Rater Guidelines. And as far as anyone knows, these are the core of ranking websites on Google. On the SERPs, AI overviews, and everywhere else that doesn’t require specific data markup.
Trustworthiness is at the core of the quality raters. It’s the most important. Because of this, enterprise SEO campaigns should focus on developing trust with its users. This will safeguard you from any future SEO updates.
4. Diversify Your SEO Efforts
Don’t only focus on traditional SEO, for instance, blogs. Diversify your SEO efforts via videos and images. You should also consider growing your enterprise in other areas as well, such as social media.
Video SEO and image SEO can help you appear in new searches. Searches that, of course, include video and images.
Social media, on the other hand, can help produce social signals. These social signals can actually improve the trust in the E-E-A-T guidelines. Therefore, you’ll get more traffic via social media and also a stronger search presence.
Final Word
The current trends in enterprise SEO will change the industry forever.
This is primarily due to AI and how people expect to receive information now. Speed has never been so important, and AI can provide exactly that.
For those performing or creating an enterprise SEO campaign should take this onboard. They should create strategies around these new trends to ensure they’re prepared for the future.
However, just remember, the basic principles of SEO don't change. Websites that rank high will be websites that are trusted by its users. This means producing high-quality content that benefits the users intent time after time again.
