We forget how much information relay has changed over the last 20 years. Never before has one been able to search the internet like you were having a fireside chat with an educated industry expert. It’s tough to come up with something truly new and unique these days. And yet, here we are.
SearchGPT is the latest in ad-free search and is still in prototype mode. It’s AI-informed, it’s conversational in practice, and it’s going to change everything. SearchGPT SEO continues to promote high-value content that caters to both users and the AI algorithm.
SearchGPT is a new search engine and the latest rollout from OpenAI that was designed to “give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.”[1] Rather than serving up a list of potential answers to your question, they’re serving up a bite-sized dissertation.
Rather than generating a list of direct links where the answer can be found—like every other search engine to date—SearchGPT acts as your research assistant, serving up the actual answers with access to the source for more information.
You. Content creators. Marketers like the team at DIGITECH.
Like all search engines, SearchGPT captures the best content online to serve as search results and resolve search queries.
We are the ones that feed data to the large language models. We create what the searcher wants. SearchGPT finds it, analyzes it, and either buries or promotes it based on quality, relevance, and reputation.
Optimizing content to rank on SearchGPT will likely continue to evolve, but some of the core principles of all search engine optimization will still remain relevant.
Unlike traditional search engines, SearchGPT generates its own version of results based on natural language processing. This means that SearchGPT does a better job of understanding context and user intent than traditional search engines, allowing it to provide the real answers people are looking for instead of preset results for a term like other search engines provide. Because of this, approaching optimization for SearchGPT requires a different approach known as Generative Engine Optimization or GEO.
Optimizing content to feed the generative AI language model offers new challenges for marketers. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) requires conversational search terms that highlight relevant keywords but still promote natural language processing and a conversational interface.
There’s no way around it. SearchGPT will change SEO practices at some level. What worked for Google before may not have the same impact on OpenAI’s newest platform.
The search engine expansion has continued to develop over the last decade or more, and these latest updates prove that the transformations aren’t anywhere close to being done. Adaptation is the key. Keeping your finger on the pulse of updates, new rollouts, and increased privacy regulations will be essential to developing the latest resources to match demand.
The most significant difference is the need to massage content, content sections, and natural language keywords to cater to the type of results SearchGPT will serve. Remember, it generates its own version of snippets, but they’re based primarily on content that aligns with the search query’s intent.
High-value, high-quality content has always been the expectation, and this remains unchanged. The difference is with new and constantly improving AI language models (LM), we can strategize and create content that is easy to read, understand, and promote. Catering to clunky SEO requirements and “publishing just to publish” will increasingly be a thing of the past with SearchGPT SEO.
All search engines, including SearchGPT, want good, high-quality content to point the user to, to populate summaries, and to cite as valuable resources. Content that is geared toward user behavior and that solves search queries. Catering to the mutual demand of users and AI improves the likelihood of higher ranking on SERPs and more traffic.
Catering to user intent is always the gold nugget of marketing campaigns. However, with the new AI-driven search feature of SearchGPT, this is now paramount. If users are asking follow-up questions, your content has to support not only the initial query but also potential subsequent queries.
SearchGPT will receive conversational queries and prioritize conversational content created with natural language. Quality content doesn’t mean it’s stuffed with elitist industry jargon and overly complex themes. It means valuable content that focuses on the importance of understanding user intent.
Don’t clog the works with an excess of backlinking. Focus on a “less is more” approach for link-building and digital PR strategies. Targeting high-value publications and reputable creators or none at all.
Both Google and SearchGPT are always looking out for the searcher, less so the creator, and will continue to bury poor-quality resources. Additionally, always give credit where credit is due with scholarly or formally designated and transparent citations.
Protecting personal data is just as important now as it ever was, and consumers are increasingly suspicious with each new rollout. Tracking and analytics will likely continue to get more difficult as behavior changes and the laws catch up. Maintain a flexible stance in digital marketing strategies and SEO practices and stay in the loop on the latest updates and requirements.
There’s nothing worse than clicking the top result only to find it’s from five+ years ago and still reads the same as it did when it was originally posted. Clearly, it was a high-value resource at the time, and maybe it still is. However, its relevance has tanked because it lacks up-to-date information. The recent global pandemic is a good example of outdated content, with many sites and resources still touting old guidelines that were never updated or removed.
SearchGPT (and Google, too) will bury resources like this and instead promote highly relevant answers and recently updated resources. Content that meets these parameters demonstrates that a human is behind it, constantly improving.
One of the most incredible new features of SearchGPT is that the AI can absorb, analyze, and communicate media in forms other than text. Photos, graphics, infographics, charts—all of these features enhance the user experience.
Still, they can get lost in traditional search engines, relying solely on alt text or descriptive text to highlight visual information. The new and innovative search engine turns this on its head and eliminates creative limitations with its enhanced capabilities.
Organized content is easier to read and offers a better user experience. With SearchGPT SEO practices, structured data will be even more important. Enhancing the content structure will make it easy for the AI to identify relevant information and create helpful summaries.
Local search is by far one of the most effective strategies to elevate visibility and promote location-based brands. SearchGPT offers a more sophisticated approach leveraging the insight of AI to target and engage local demographics, interests, regional preferences, and unique audiences more effectively.
While plugging “near me” into search terms and capturing voice search queries may still be relevant, the depth and scope of the AI’s capacity to reason and think outside the SEO box can generate even stronger results for local information.
Yes, SearchGPT is smarter than the average engine. However, we’re not throwing out all of our technical SEO expertise with the proverbial bathwater. Strong navigation, site structure, and user experience still matter. Bouncebacks and low time-on-page will have the same influence on SERP rankings as they did before—if not more.
SearchGPT is very much still a prototype search engine. OpenAI is still developing its new tool, and the user base is limited as early access is closed. We still don’t have enough data to fully grasp the impact of the artificial intelligence behind SearchGPT, what click-through rates will look like, how engagement metrics will be reported, how the results page will evolve, or how the search algorithms will adapt to user queries.
Businesses and marketers should continue creating content that feeds the large language models and serves the demand of the greater search market. Even though they’re using an AI search engine, there is still a human on the other side of the keyboard. They are the target, not the algorithm.
The tools may change, and the keepers of the largest search market share may shift, but valuable information will never go out of style. Digitech’s high-value, GEO, and SEO-infused content strategies lead the industry in results and traffic generation. If you need to increase website traffic and capture more leads, reach out to DIGITECH today.
[1] SearchGPT is a prototype of new AI search features. (n.d.). OpenAI. https://openai.com/index/searchgpt-prototype/
