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E-commerce Brands Adapt SEO Strategies Amid AI-Laden Search Landscape
Amid a significant transformation in search engine results pages (SERPs), e-commerce brands are grappling with declining organic visibility, prompting a rethink of their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.
The shift, observed in 2024, is driven by the ascendance of AI Overviews, Shopping Ads, and rich Google SERP features, which are no longer experimental additions but dominate the search experience, particularly on mobile devices.
Recent data from AccuRanker underscores this trend, revealing that click-through rates (CTR) for e-commerce organic results have plummeted, notably for high-intent transactional keywords. The decline is more pronounced on mobile devices, with organic CTRs up to 50% lower than on desktop computers for the same keywords.
The changes imply that ranking first still holds immense value, but it no longer guarantees the same volume of clicks as before. The rise of zero-click search, which allows users to obtain answers within Google's interface, further contributes to reduced traffic for top-performing organic listings.
The pressure on e-commerce SEO stems from several factors:
- AI Overviews: Designed to instantly answer user queries, Google's AI Overviews often pull product recommendations from the Google Shopping Graph or summarize content from multiple sources. This competition reduces the need for users to visit third-party sites, eroding traditional SEO tactics' effectiveness.
- Google Shopping: Increasingly prevalent, Google Shopping Ads and organic Shopping features are becoming ubiquitous, even without paid advertisements. These features, such as "Shop the Look," "Popular Styles," image carousels, and AI Overviews, consume the SERP, pushing organic listings further down the page, especially on mobile devices with limited screen real estate.
- Competition for Attention: Google's obsession with rich features means e-commerce brands aren't just competing with other brands; they're competing with Google itself. A typical SERP now features Google Shopping Ads, "Popular Stores" carousels, AI Overview summaries, "Shop the Look" grids, "People Also Ask" boxes, image product packs, YouTube videos, and more. Each feature diminishes the likelihood of a user clicking through to a brand's site, even when sitting at position #1.
To navigate these challenges, e-commerce brands must adapt their SEO strategies. Four key approaches are:
- Leverage Digital PR: With organic visibility waning, brand recognition becomes paramount. Digital PR aims to build authority and visibility across trusted publications, media outlets, and platforms, enhancing brand recall when users encounter listings in search results, thus increasing the chances of a click.
- Build Digital Authority Outside of Google: The era of Digital Authority PR prioritizes visibility across trusted sources, impacting both human behavior and algorithmic trust. By appearing in niche podcasts, relevant YouTube channels, Reddit threads, and high-authority blogs, e-commerce brands increase their chances of being referenced by AI tools in future responses.
- Optimize for SERP Features: It's no longer sufficient to optimize for keywords; brands must optimize for the features Google showcases. Treating product feeds and structured data with the same care as on-page SEO can provide multiple entry points into the search experience beyond the traditional 10 blue links.
- Shift from Lead Capture to Demand Generation: With fewer clicks available, e-commerce brands must create demand through paid social media, influencer marketing, and content campaigns that encourage users to search for the brand directly or convert through other channels.
The shifting AI search landscape underscores the need for e-commerce brands to adapt early and future-proof their presence. By showing up in trusted places, publications, podcasts, and social conversations, brands increase their visibility in LLM training data and improve their odds of inclusion in AI-generated content.
The brands that thrive in this new landscape combine traditional SEO practices with strategies that cater to AI and human users alike, ensuring they remain competitive in an evolving landscape.
In response to the transformation of search engine results pages (SERPs) in 2024, driven by AI Overviews, Shopping Ads, and rich Google SERP features, e-commerce brands are compelled to revamp their search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. To maintain visibility amidst this AI-laden search landscape, e-commerce brands must optimize for featured snippets, prioritize digital PR, build digital authority outside of Google, and shift from lead capture to demand generation strategies.
