The future of search: What is SGE?

Google designed SGE to make search results more insightful, intuitive, and relevant based on a user's previous searches and behaviour. 

Key features of SGE include:

Efficiency - SGE formulates answers by taking information from multiple sites, meaning users don't need to enter  separate sites to find the information themselves. This makes it much more efficient for users to find the exact answer they're looking for without having to read through lots of content. 

Personalisation - SGE allows the content to be personalised based on a users' previous searches, behaviour, and preferences, meaning they are able to provide more relevant information to each specific user. 

Intuitive - When using SGE, Google not only provides the answer to the original search query but also answers any related or logical follow-up questions that a user may have. 

Visual Content - Depending on the search query, users can be provided with relevant photos, videos, or other elements making results more engaging and easier to understand. 

SGE currently goes through specific processes to give the best information as quickly as possible. 

Step 1 - A user will come to Google with a search query, such as, "Does chocolate expire?"

Step 2 - Google's AI model will take the query and analyse the question. The AI model will then extract information from several sources to collate the most helpful and relevant information.

Step 3 - Once all the information is collected it can formulate an answer for the user which can include text, images, videos, and links. 

Step 4 - SGE can adapt to the user's responses, allowing them to ask further questions or discuss other topics. 

There is no way to guarantee that your content will show up in the results of an SGE search. However, you can optimise your site to improve your chances of being featured. 

Quality Content

Focus on quality over quantity when it comes to content. Produce in-depth content, such as blogs or detailed frequently asked questions about your business or related topics.

Long Tail Keywords

Optimising your content for long-tail keywords will help appear in results as SGE is trying to encourage users to search using more detailed phrases than a short question. Using long-tail keywords means your content is likely to be more relevant to a user's search. 

Rich Results & Structured Data

Optimise your website for rich results; by implementing structured data, it allows you to provide Google with information about your page. If you'd like to understand rich results and learn step-by-step how to achieve them, you can do so here. 
 
Accessibility & User Experience

Ensure your website is fully accessible and has a great user experience (UX). Improving load times, making your site mobile-friendly, and ensuring easy navigation all help to enhance your user experience. A website that is accessible and has good UX is more likely to get higher engagement and therefore better rankings, which will make it more likely to appear in SGE results. 
 
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)

Websites that demonstrate the qualities of E-E-A-T are usually referenced in SGE. This is due to Google's creation of E-E-A-T as a component of their Search Quality Elevator Guidelines. You can read our blog on E-E-A-T and how you can implement it on your site here.

Enhanced Engagement & Visibility

Having your content featured in an SGE result on Google will help boost your rankings as it will boost both the engagement and visibility of your page.

Authority & Trustworthiness

If your content is displayed on SGE, it will increase the credibility of your site within your industry. Most users perceive an SGE answer as trustworthy and correct, and this trust can translate into higher confidence when users read your content. 

SGE is still growing, like SEO, meaning you need to stay on top of any future updates and keep an eye on how it evolves so if need be, you can adapt. 

SGE is fairly new, meaning it will develop as time goes on, so it is crucial to stay updated.  You can view Google's latest SEO updates here.

If you enjoyed this blog, you can check out our previous blogs, such as SEO Timeline, How Long Does SEO Take? and What Is Google E-E-A-T & How Does It Impact SEO? We provide monthly blogs based on Search Engine Optimisation to give you a complete understanding of the topics, so why not bookmark it? 

If you need any help with SEO, consider booking a call with a member of our team to learn how we can help you achieve your online goals!