The world of SEO has been full of dynamic changes since the inception of search engines. The emergence of GSE (Generative Search Experience) represents a drastic shift. This isn’t one of the minor adjustments in search and search result algorithms we’ve seen before; it’s a revolutionary change in how search engines operate. What does this entail?

What is the function of GSE and what is changing compared to before?

Previously, the search system operated by returning a list of links based on your query through algorithmic criteria. Now it goes further. It not only returns a list of links but analyzes your intent, gathers information from all available sources based on it, and shapes it into a relevant response.

GSE changes the previous Google SERP (search results page) in a way that, after deep analysis, you will receive a specific answer to your query. Deep analysis involves analyzing your intent, predicting needs, searching for answers from the database, and shaping them to be relevant to the query. With a satisfactory response on the SERP, you often won’t need to click on a website from the search results list.

How to adapt SEO to the new search results?

We must consider these revolutionary changes in search results and adjust accordingly to visitors to our websites. We need to focus on the purpose of websites, or the intention of users for which they come to our websites. Accordingly, we need to optimize websites. Previously, we focused on optimizing websites for keywords. I’m not saying that the new optimization completely excludes keywords, but the focus should be on user intent.

Keywords are still in play but are part of a complete SEO strategy. We need to have answers to these questions during optimization and build an SEO optimization strategy around them:

  • What problems can users come to our website for?
  • How do we respond to these problems?
  • What information are visitors really looking for and how do we respond to it?

Keywords are still important, but it seems that their density won’t be as important as the entire content that answers the visitor’s question. GSE will favor content that provides a relevant answer to the query. Let’s not forget that GSE compares content with a range of similar content and algorithms determine which is more relevant. User intent has come into play, so the primary task of GSE is to answer this query and satisfy the user’s intent.

AEO – Answer Engine Optimization

Considering the function of GSE, we come to a new term – AEO or Answer Engine Optimization. AEO focuses on optimizing websites like SEO, but with a major focus on answering user questions. Regardless of how users ask questions, algorithms will try to reshape them into an intention or question and find the best answer from the database of websites and other sources.

What is changing in the way users search and their habits?

Recent research shows that user habits are changing. Recently, we have a significant decrease in search volume, up to a quarter, with a tendency to further decline. The lack of searches can be justified by increased use of AI chatbots. Searching is increasingly done without clicks on the list of websites in search results.

What are the important things for website optimization?

Let’s not forget how the results will be presented, in the form of answers, solution lists, various options, etc. Search engines will still rank individual sources of information according to key criteria: source reliability, experience, expertise, etc. Algorithms will continue to favor comprehensive and quality content. Quantity of content and different formats will still be valued, including various multimedia content, infographics, interactive elements, videos, etc. This again emphasizes the quality of user experience.

How to optimize websites given the latest developments?

You will definitely need to adjust optimization to the new search results. What tools will you use? AI-based tools could help, especially in discovering and recognizing user intent. Analyzing search trends is still relevant.

You will need to directly or indirectly start dealing with content creation or closely collaborate with content creators. The trend of thinking about optimization beyond keywords started earlier, but now it comes more to the fore. A good path to success is more informative content that solves user problems. Work on increasing the reliability of your source, proving quality and expertise. Definitely consider redesigning your websites.

Remember that the key to SEO optimization is not just high rankings but providing answers to the user’s query. Will the cost of SEO optimization increase? Definitely yes, as in the optimization process, we need to use additional procedures during optimization.