AI's impact on SEO to the evolution of GEO | West Loop SEO
Whats all the hype with AEO and GEO and how does it relate to SEO?
AI has made our lives easier no question - in some ways. When it comes to SEO tasks, LLMs like Gemini and Claude have helped with tedious and technical SEO tasks such as redirect mapping and schema generation (which it important for ranking in AIOs.) Has AEO/GEO become the new SEO, the answer is no but think of them as co-existing. The so-called 10 blue links and AIOs merge and make up the new SERP (search engine result page.) AIOs and the conventional 10 blue links offer a different search experience - one is quick answers designed to satiate the user and the other is a gateway to browse.
AIOs have essentially become the new featured results just with AI incorporated. So with this new ecosystem that makes up the SERP (search engine result page), what has changed? The SEO landscape changed overnight. Position #1 CTR dropped from 28% to 19%. Zero-click searches hit 69%. AI search traffic surged 527%. Most sites waste 97% of their traffic. Traditional SEO changed and has evolved into AEO.
AI takeover of the SERP
60% of all searches are now 0-click meaning the search experience ends on the SERP. SEOs have coined a phrase called the "great decoupling" where impressions increase while clicks decrease. This is industry agnostic for the most part. This is happening because of search behavior, Google has become an answer engine. So what to do?
While search behavior has change in the sense that Google wants to satisfy the user with a quick answer via AI. The overall goal of the marketer has largely stayed the same - just with one tactic being immensely more important. That tactic is content and branding. It is imperative now that your content must be original and satisfy the search query. This is old school SEO optimization on steroids.
How has AI Changed CTR and Conversion Rates?
This is based off of 4 million searches. Whats interesting is the delta of the positions 6 through 10 aside from the pretty big declines in CTR for the first 3 positions.
| Position | 2024 CTR | 2026 CTR | Change | With AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 28.0% | 19.0% | -32% | 13.8% |
| #2 | 20.8% | 12.6% | -39% | 8.2% |
| #3 | 13.4% | 9.7% | -28% | 6.1% |
| #4 | 8.9% | 6.4% | -28% | 4.2% |
| #5 | 6.2% | 4.8% | -23% | 3.1% |
| #6 | 4.1% | 5.8% | +41% | 4.9% |
| #7 | 3.4% | 4.9% | +44% | 4.1% |
| #8 | 2.8% | 3.9% | +39% | 3.3% |
| #9 | 2.4% | 3.2% | +33% | 2.7% |
| #10 | 2.0% | 2.6% | +30% | 2.2% |
Now, lets take a look at industry specific impacts:
| Industry | Avg CTR | Top Position CTR | AI Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive | 3.2% | 24.1% | Low |
| Finance | 1.9% | 14.3% | High |
| Healthcare | 2.4% | 17.8% | Very High |
| E-commerce | 2.1% | 15.6% | Medium |
| B2B SaaS | 1.7% | 12.9% | High |
| Legal | 2.8% | 19.4% | Medium |
| Real Estate | 2.6% | 18.7% | Low |
| Travel | 2.3% | 16.2% | Medium |
Conversion rates also have shifted with click-through-rates largely changing.
| Industry | Avg Conversion Rate | Top 10% CR | SEO Conv Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | 2.3% | 6.8% | 3.1% |
| E-commerce | 2.1% | 4.9% | 2.8% |
| Healthcare | 3.0% | 7.2% | 3.8% |
| Financial Services | 3.1% | 8.1% | 4.2% |
| Professional Services | 4.6% | 9.3% | 5.4% |
| Legal Services | 3.4% | 7.8% | 4.1% |
| Real Estate | 2.4% | 5.7% | 2.9% |
| Education | 2.8% | 6.4% | 3.3% |
| Manufacturing | 1.9% | 4.8% | 2.4% |
| Technology | 2.2% | 5.9% | 2.7% |
Is SEO still worth it, given this drastic change?
Yes, 100%. I would argue SEO is more important than ever. You have probably seen articles saying SEO is dead. Some people even say its not worth even having a website! Thats extreme and I don't believe in extremes. SEO is still the best form of digital marketing in my opinion. The ROI of SEO is great. It is more important than every to make sure your brand is visible. Making sure you appear on page 1 is not really good enough anymore. I would argue that you need to strive for AIO and position 1 through 3 on page 1 is your ultimate goal. Once your website is optimized that is when the long road of SEO really starts. The maintenance, competitive surveillance, and the trial and error all for capturing those positions. Google is not going anywhere. You need a website and it has to be optimized!
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