Sites are seeing a massive hit to their traffic and rankings. This started in September 2024, but has accelerated following Google’s December 2024 core update.
Google’s blogs on the release of these updates emphasised that the changes to the search algorithms were about presenting “helpful, reliable, people-first content” at the top of the search results. But in the months since, the updates have raised more questions than answers.
Hubspot, widely regarded as the gold standard for SEO-led B2B blogging, have seen their organic monthly traffic drop from 13.5 million in November to 8.6 million in December, with their blog suffering the most.
While there isn’t a definitive answer from Google on why certain sites are losing out, there are two strong theories in the SEO world. The first is the core updates, and the second is the arrival of GEO.
What is GEO?
Generative engine optimisation is the process of updating your website’s content to boost its visibility in AI searches. These include the AI Overviews now featured in Google searches, as well as searches from AI engines like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini.
Traditionally, search engine optimisation (SEO) was about ranking on the first few search results in Google. But with AI search taking over, these links are being pushed further down the page.
AI Overviews are part of a trend toward conversational search. This is where people ask questions into AI Assistants and get a single answer. GEO now expands this function to search results. In other words, if you aren’t the authority on a topic, you might as well not even try to answer it.
What is the difference between GEO and SEO?
Fundamentally GEO and SEO are the same. It’s the process of optimising your website content to match what searchers are looking for. There are three key differences you need to look out for.
The first, and key thing to bear in mind are the results you’ll get when you search. When using a traditional search engine, you receive a list of links, typically from high-authority brands relevant to your query. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, focuses on answering questions directly, drawing from multiple sources. However, these sources may not always be the highest-ranking from an SEO perspective.
The second is how content is prioritised. SEO relies on some tried and trusted techniques, optimising for keywords, solving technical issues and building backlinks. GEO optimisation is still a little fuzzy, but early signs point to your site’s authority score, and tailoring content for conversational search being big factors.
The final big difference is the consequence of ranking for SEO and GEO. SEO drives clicks to your website through search. GEO presents direct answers, reducing the need for the user to click-through. That means even if you’re recognised as the authority on the topic, your website might not receive the engagement you would expect!
How is GEO affecting search traffic?
With AI Overviews taking over search results, fewer users are clicking on traditional web links. Google is answering questions directly on the results page, often pulling information from multiple sources.
For example, let’s say someone searches “best project management software”. Before, they’d see a mix of blog posts, review sites, and ads. Now? AI Overviews compile a summary from different sources, and gives a single response as their source of truth.
This shift means less organic traffic and fewer website visits, especially for content-heavy sites that relied on informational searches.
As more users turn to AI tools like ChatGPT for direct answers, SEO strategies are evolving. Instead of optimising blogs to rank for informational queries, brands now focus on driving branded clicks and engagement. In response, search engines have introduced AI overviews to retain users within their ecosystem. This is to the benefit of any organisation who manages to feature in overviews, with pages seeing a 3.2x traffic increase.
And more data backs this up:
HubSpot saw a massive traffic drop following Google’s December update.
SEO experts predict that GEO will reshape content marketing strategies entirely.
…And GEO isn’t always perfect
There’s a reason Google still has to list “generative AI is experimental” at the bottom of all AI Overviews. Some queries generate biased or demonstrably false information. For example, here’s the first result if you Google “wild haggis”.
How can businesses navigate GEO to stop traffic dropping?
As AI overviews reshape search, click-through rates to websites, especially ones based on informational search, are expected to decline. Users increasingly trust AI for direct answers, meaning businesses must adapt their strategies. Here’s some ways we’ve seen businesses effectively tweak their new and existing content to rank for overviews and maintain organic enquiries.
Optimise for AI Overview formatting: AI engines prioritise concise, well-structured answers. Use bullet points, summaries, and schema markup to make your content as easy as possible to convert to overviews.
Optimise for transactional searches: Not all traffic is created equal. If lead generation is the priority, then transactional searches have the highest value. To do this, your content should focus on ranking for high intent, commercially led keywords to capture buyers at the right stage of the customer journey.
Examples might include product comparisons, pricing pages, and case studies.
Build authority: Google’s AI pulls content from trusted sources. Build credibility through expert insights, high-quality backlinks, and well-researched content. Your existing SEO plan should cover this!
Diversify your traffic sources: The volatility of big brands’ SEO shows it’s time to stop putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s time to explore email marketing, social media, and partnerships to drive traffic from multiple channels.
Think beyond traditional keywords: AI Overviews favour context over keywords. Focus on answering real user queries in natural language rather than stuffing in keywords, conversational search is key.
Invest in brand searches: If people search for your brand directly, AI is more likely to feature your content. Build a strong brand presence, online and offline, so users look for you by name.
AI-driven search is here, and it’s the biggest change SEO has seen for years. Our response comes in two forms, diversify your traffic, and adapt your strategy.
The main message to take from the change is that content is still king, but quality is more important than quantity. With SEO content farms tanking in search results, when people do land on your site, your user experience needsto keep them there. Engaging, well-researched content has to be the priority.
If you’d like to find out more about our recommendations, get in touch.