How AI Is Impacting Businesses That Depend On Google Search.
By Francis Waithaka, Founder & Lead Trainer at Digital 4 Africa
As someone who spends a lot of time looking at marketing performance, I’ve analysed multiple websites in different sectors to see how AI is impacting businesses that rely on traffic from Google Search.
There’s evidence that most sites are getting less visibility from Google, as people are not opening website pages to read content. AI overviews and conversations with AI are taking away a lot of clicks from most websites that I analysed. Instead of googling to find a list of 15 webpages and choosing one from the results, people are now chatting with AI. My analysis of several websites from multiple industries using Google Search Console shows there is clear evidence that most websites are losing their average position on Google search results.
What should marketers do when website trafficking is going down because of AI?
Continue telling stories – The ability to communicate effectively through video or other forms of creative art is still important in the era of AI. So, continue creating good content and distribute it as far as you can.
Online Advertising is still relevant in boosting traffic and SEO
Advertising on digital platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and TikTok will still remain an important customer acquisition channel.
Why Events and Relationships still matter in Marketing in the AI Era
There is an oversupply of AI Content on the Internet. Social media platforms and audiences are too fragmented for brands to stand out. This is why connecting with people through in-person events will continue to be an effective customer acquisition strategy. The reason for this is because of the power of human connection and persuasion. I recently attended an event organized by our partners ALN Academy, where I connected with a stranger. After about ten minutes of chatting with the IT executive, I managed to convince him to pay for a service that he was conicidentaly looking for.
SEO is not dead, Implement best SEO Practices
Do not stop doing good SEO practices. The key principles of SEO have not changed. EEAT – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust will remain the key foundations of the Internet for the foreseeable future. Ensure that your website performance, usability and content are top in your industry.
Adopt AI or die.
AIs are tools for increasing human productivity. Because of the feedback loops in AI, these tools will continue to reduce their hallucination rates and become better at writing, researching, coding, creating images, videos, etc. Instead of fighting these AI tools, embrace and use them in your daily workflow. My use of the internet has completely changed. I find myself using AI in getting recipes, preparing proposals, or finding answers to life, business and health questions. AI has become my personal assistant or information partner.
Francis Waithaka is the Founder and Lead Trainer at Digital 4 Africa, with over 24 years of experience in information technology and digital marketing. He has worked with over a hundred companies across East Africa and is a certified digital marketer. Connect with him on Twitter @waithash.
