Posted 3 hours ago3 hr comment_13548 My SEO colleagues have a tall task on their hands, one that grows taller by the day as AI-powered search proliferates: compensating for eroding website traffic. Yes, I’m talking about zero-click search, which is taking root across AI search and LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini – and the AI Overviews creeping into more traditional SERPs. A recent report featured in these pages cites an organic SERP CTR drop between .64% and 1.41%. The smart money is on that CTR dropping as zero-click search behavior gains momentum. (Though recent Semrush data showed zero-click behavior declined slightly.) I would also bet on Google finding more ways to minimize the “necessary evil” – their words – of sending traffic to publisher sites. In other words, you can’t count on your current SEO strategy to deliver the levels of organic traffic you’re accustomed to. Even if you succeed in showing up prominently in search results in an evolving landscape, there’s no guarantee you’ll get clicks. If you’re on the PPC side, and you’re determined to be great partners to your organic colleagues and the clients they serve, what’s your charter? That’s what I’ll explore in this article. Know the impact on your industry User behavior (and search platform presence) is highly variable by industry. AI search is gaining tremendous traction in retail and travel, with queries showing activity all along the purchase journey, a recent Adobe report shows. For B2B, which is a big part of our client portfolio, we’re seeing the most AI search activity on top-of-funnel, research-based searches. When people are searching for branded terms, we’re not (yet) seeing much AI Overviews volume in the SERPs. For B2C and ecommerce, then, your zero-click mitigation strategy needs to cover the full range of searches. For B2B, you can focus on the top of the funnel and demand generation, at least for now. Expand your channel presence My SEO colleagues have been pounding this drum for a while, and it’s important to consider for paid as well. No matter the size of your brand, allocate some budget to expand outside of your biggest channels, which are still: Google and Meta for B2C. Google, LinkedIn, and Meta for B2B. (Before I go any further here, I’ll note that we still talk to brands that are only active on Google search, which never fails to surprise me.) If you’re in B2C, consider testing the waters of: TikTok. YouTube. Pinterest. Connected TV (CTV). Even Reddit, if there are robust communities relevant to your product or service. If you’re in B2B, consider moving even more up-funnel on LinkedIn. We’ve seen thought leader ads bring in good reach and engagement. Also, invest in Reddit and Quora. Even TikTok has a growing B2B presence that you should put on your radar. The reasoning for expansion goes beyond reach (though that’s important). The social proof provided by some of these channels, particularly TikTok and Reddit, packs a huge mid- and lower-funnel punch. The trend of increased searches for Reddit content on Google shows that users have more trust in less-varnished, more authentic content: Last – and certainly not least – content that draws strong engagement on some of these platforms (particularly Reddit, TikTok, and Quora) is frequently pulled into Google SERPs. It’s a great multichannel diversification play, even if AI Overviews is shoving that content down the page. Dig deeper: Search everywhere optimization: 7 platforms SEOs need to optimize for beyond Google Keep coordinating with your SEO colleagues We talk about “being the primary source” at my agency, and this extends to paid as well. Make sure you’re in close communication with your SEO team to understand their most critical queries and how PPC can supplement your brand presence for them, particularly if your SEO team is seeing CTR slip on those terms. Get fluent with placement data (and Performance Max) One thing Google doesn’t appear to be blowing smoke about is increased search volume. That could mean (and Google has certainly been claiming this for months) that people actually like AI Overviews content, which marketers need to take seriously. With AI Overview ads live and AI Mode ads starting to leak out, I assume that those placements will eventually be part of the Performance Max portfolio (and I also assume there won’t be a specific way to target them). Now, the performance of those ads is very tough to predict, but if you want to test them, you’ll need to be: Active on Performance Max, which I certainly don’t recommend for all B2B brands unless you have a strong offline conversion tracking and enhanced conversion setup. Up to speed on PMax’s new placement reporting functionality, which should ultimately deliver AI Overviews and AI Mode data. What’s next? It’s been a strange year for performance marketers. Aside from the uncertainty of TikTok advertising in the U.S., most of the biggest news is happening on the organic and user-behavior fronts. But smart performance marketers aren’t staying heads-down and conducting business as usual. They’re looking for ripple effects and ways to adapt their strategies to mitigate organic loss and capitalize on positive organic trends. View the full article
