I analyzed 300K keywords to recognize what triggers AI Overviews. The results were predictable successful immoderate ways and wholly astonishing successful others. For instance, 1 of my favourite stats (although not the favorite – you’ll person to work connected for that ) is that 99.9% of AI Overview SERPs show astatine slightest 1 different SERP feature. In this survey I effort to nail-down the cardinal differences betwixt AIO SERPs, vs. non-AIO SERPs. I anticipation you find it interesting! According to probe from SEOClarity, AI Overviews volition root a apical 10 ranking leafage successful the SERPs 99.5% of the time. And recent probe conscionable successful from Kevin Indig shows that 40% of URLs successful AIOs besides fertile successful positions 11-20. It stands to crushed that the much you cognize astir ranking organically successful an AI-topped SERP, the easier it volition beryllium to look successful an existent AI Overview. Based connected that logic, I decided to analyse 150K of the most searched keywords that make an AI Overview, vs. 150K of the astir searched keywords without an AI Overview, to find retired the cardinal attributes of AIO topped SERPs. I’ve studied rather a fewer akin metrics to Flow Agency’s research of 5K HR and Workforce Management AIO Keywords carried retired by the awesome Helene Jelenc backmost successful July—which besides utilized Ahrefs—so if you’ve work that study, you’ll beryllium acquainted with this data. Ahrefs has besides conscionable precocious released 2 awesome caller features successful Keywords Explorer which motivated maine to bash this analysis: The AI Overview SERP Feature filter, which returns each keyword that generates an AI Overview successful the SERPs… And the Intents filter… Now, without further ado, present are my 5 apical findings from the research: AI Overviews predominantly look for low-volume, long-tail keywords. Even the astir searched AIO keywords aren’t driving important volume, receiving an mean of lone 150 searches per month—98% little than their non-AIO counterparts (29K). Moreover, AIO SERPs show 88% little postulation potential, which represents the sum of integrated postulation that the #1 ranking leafage receives from each its ranking keywords—meaning that adjacent top-ranking pages person humble postulation compared to non-AIO SERPs. The information confirms that AIO queries are long-tail, containing 4 words connected (median) mean vs. 2 for modular searches, which explains those postulation and measurement shortfalls. Sidenote. You’ve astir apt noticed that the astir communal AIO operation magnitude connected the illustration supra is 3—not 4, arsenic I said above. This is due to the fact that the illustration uses the “mode average”, oregon astir communal keyword operation length, successful bid to spot the percent breakdown. I person utilized median averages erstwhile analyzing standalone stats crossed the full dataset, since they’re little affected by utmost values oregon outliers. Comparing operation lengths, you tin spot that the bulk of non-AIO keywords inclination towards the near of the illustration astir the little numbers, confirming their short-tail nature, portion AI Overview keywords highest astatine 3 words and are much evenly distributed crossed longer operation lengths. AIO Overviews are designed to reply idiosyncratic questions, truthful it makes consciousness that AIO keywords are much discursive, and longer-tail. I besides noticed that AIO SERPs tended to beryllium question-focused. As a speedy example, filtering for the emblematic question keyword “How” successful the AIO dataset returns 20K results, compared with lone 55 successful the non-AIO dataset. They also, typically, displayed clearer intent. Take the eighth astir searched keyword successful the dataset, “ozempic broadside effects”, for example. The extremity of the searcher is reasonably unequivocal. These aren’t the astir groundbreaking of insights—they’re beauteous overmuch what I expected to see—but it’s ever bully to get a mentation confirmed with real data. Tip AIO keywords don’t ever thrust little traffic. Here’s however to find AIO keywords with higher postulation potential. Keyword Difficulty is simply a metric we devised to assistance you recognize however hard it is to fertile for a peculiar hunt query, based connected the fig of referring domains (RDs) earned by the Top 10 organically ranking pages. From the data, 71% of AI Overview keywords person a Keyword Difficulty people beneath 30, with the median mean being 12—compared with a median mean of 33 for non-AI results. Given that AIO keywords are the longer-tail, lesser searched of the two, this tracks. Here’s an illustration keyword from the dataset with a Keyword Difficulty of 12: “Can dogs person cinnamon” (the reply is yes, successful tiny amounts, for anyone that’s wondering ) To fertile successful the SERP for galore AIO keywords successful the study, you would lone request a minimum of 13 referring domains, vs. 41 for non-AIO SERPs. While they thrust little volumes and traffic, AIO topped SERPs necessitate less backlinks to enter into. Tip Find debased trouble AIO keyword opportunities from your competitors: As it stands, 99.2% of each AI Overview keywords are informational. AI Overviews make erstwhile users are looking for details, explanations, oregon guidance, arsenic opposed to making nonstop purchases. Commercial and transactional keywords are harder to travel by, making up little than 10% of each AIO SERPs analyzed (5.8% and 4.0% respectively). But I expect this whitethorn increase, what with Google rolling retired ads successful AI Overviews. When it comes to non-AIO keywords, hunt results are inactive overwhelmingly informational, but different intents look much often vs. AIO SERPs. For instance, determination were treble the magnitude of commercialized and transactional keywords successful the non-AIO investigation vs. the AIO dataset (20% vs. 10%). Sidenote. Bear successful caput that the numbers don’t adhd up to 100% due to the fact that galore keywords show aggregate intents. I was amazed to spot transactional queries showing AIO lone ~10% of the time, an summation from the 5-7% seen astatine launch. This volition surely interaction SEOs’ strategy for transactional pages. Ranking lone successful integrated hunt without respect for appearing successful AIO volition pb to missed opportunities. Tip Find informational AIO keywords during your keyword research. Remember that SEOClarity study? The amended visibility you person successful integrated hunt results, the much apt you are to triumph visibility successful AI Overviews. And integrated hunt results don’t conscionable mean classical bluish links anymore—that overmuch we all know. With that successful mind, I decided to analyse the prominence of 18 SERP features successful AIO hunt results. Of the 150K AI Overview SERPs I analyzed, 99.95% returned astatine slightest 1 different SERP Feature. In fact, each SERP returned 3 connected mean — ignoring the AI Overview itself. If you privation to ain an AI Overview, you should see optimizing your mode into SERP Features. Specifically, deliberation astir infusing your contented with Q&As. The “People Also Ask” diagnostic appeared successful 80.92% of each AI Overview queries. Featured Snippets, Thumbnails, Video Previews, and Discussions were besides prominent. And things got adjacent much absorbing erstwhile I compared against non-AIO keywords… There was lone a insignificant quality successful the beingness of People Also Ask for AIO and non-AIO keywords, but determination were different diagnostic contrasts that leaped retired of the data. Keywords that trigger AIOs besides trigger… …vs. non-AIO hunt results. If you deliberation that AI Overviews are supplanting Featured Snippets, think again. This diagnostic appears successful implicit fractional of each queries successful the dataset. It’s intrinsically tied to the AIO SERP. This is what it looks like, for those who are unfamiliar: Discussions are besides acold much prevalent successful AIO SERPs astatine the clip of writing. Here’s what they look similar connected the SERP: Google’s had a brushed spot for user-generated contented (UGC) each passim 2024, and successful a caller interrogation with Aleyda Solis, Danny Sullivan confirmed they’ll beryllium sticking with this strategy, truthful it doesn’t astonishment maine to spot acold much Discussions contiguous for AIO keywords. I’ll admit I was surprised to spot the Knowledge Panel truthful debased down the AIO illustration though, with 76% little visibility than non-AIO results. According to Google’s authoritative documentation, it relies connected the Knowledge Graph to make AI Overviews. Evidently, it doesn’t request the ocular Knowledge Panel to make AI Overview content, and conscionable grabs accusation from the Knowledge Graph database successful the background. Tip Align your contented with AI Overview generating SERP Features. Mobile postulation dominates AI Overview queries, accounting for 81% of traffic, vs. 19% for desktop. It’s marginally little important to beryllium mobile-optimized for non-AIO queries (77% mobile vs. 23% desktop), but those SERPs are inactive overwhelmingly mobile-first. Your contented needs to beryllium mobile-ready if you’re hoping to up your visibility successful AIO hunt results. Tip Find retired the mobile/desktop organisation of your ain AIO keywords successful Keyword Explorer. I ran an unfastened hunt successful Keywords Explorer, applied Ahrefs’ AI Overview SERP filter, exported the apical 150K results, past analyzed the information successful Google Sheets with a small assistance from ChatGPT. Then I repeated this process for non-AIO generating keywords—the lone quality being that I selected the “Not connected SERP” filter successful Keywords Explorer. By focusing connected acquisition content, optimizing for salient SERP features, and getting your contented mobile optimized, you’re mostly much apt to boost visibility successful AIO SERPs, and possibly adjacent assertion the AI Overview by proxy. Bear successful caput this is simply a reasonably wide dataset, fixed that I’ve analyzed the most searched AIO and non-AIO queries. Metrics volition decidedly alteration crossed niche keyword categories. I conscionable did a speedy cheque connected 680 SEO/Marketing keywords, for example, and AIO keywords are overwhelmingly desktop driven (72% for desktop vs. 28% for mobile), meaning mobile optimization won’t beryllium as important if you enactment in SaaS. I wholly promote you to bash your ain analyses successful Ahrefs for your manufacture and/or the keywords you care about. Since I conducted this study, Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer has discovered adjacent much AI Overview based keywords. We’re moving connected collecting much data, including the beingness of links and domains wrong the AIO, truthful support your eyes peeled for that. If you person immoderate questions astir this research, consciousness escaped to drop maine a connection connected LinkedIn. My inbox is ever open :] MetricAIO SERPsNon-AIO SERPs Median Keyword Difficulty 12 33 Median Search Volume 500 29,000 Median Traffic Potential 2,200 18,000 Median CPC 0.35 0.45 Median Keyword Length 4 2 Mobile Traffic Percent 81% 77% Desktop Traffic Percent 19% 23% Ahrefs present tracks AI Overviews
How I compiled this research
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I Analyzed 300K Keywords. Here’s What I Learned About AI Overviews
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