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Please note that Google told us that this product reviews update will take approximately three weeks to roll out and we are only now in the start of week two. So, the data may change but generally when Google rolls out these updates, the bulk of the impact you would see from an update would be in the first few days of that rollout.

Data providers show December was bigger than April

Semrush did tell us that the November 2021 core update was bigger than the December product reviews update, but they are two different types of updates and that makes sense. In fact, The December product reviews update is not showing huge amounts of movement compared to the November core update, Semrush said

Let’s check out how the search engine market share looks. As of April 2021, Google holds a whopping 92.18% share of the global search engine market. Bing ranks second with a market share of 2.27%.For mobile devices only, Google share is even more significant—94.84%, while Bing’s is only 0.42%. However, Bing seems to be more popular on desktop computers, with a 5.53% market share, while Google’s is 87.28%. With our SEO tool, it’s easier than ever to track your ranking by device.

Key Insights from AI Overview Link Analysis 21.1% of Queries Trigger Overviews: Out of 11,163 analyzed queries, 21.1% (2,358) triggered an AI Overview, with each summary containing an average of 8.9 links. Top Linked Domains: The most frequently linked URLs included YouTube (3.88% from youtube.com and 2.59% from m.youtube.com), Wikipedia (3.76%), and less frequently, Southern Living (1.53%). Overlap with Search Results: 46.3% of the documents linked in the summaries were from the top organic search results for the exact match query. Inclusion of Related Queries: When related queries were added to the direct match queries, the percentage of links from both the direct match and related queries in the top search results increased to 60.4%. Combination of Query Types: The integration of direct match, related, and reformulated queries showed that 67.3% of the links in AI Overviews were accounted for in the top search results. SERP Position and AI Overview Visibility: The likelihood of a search result document appearing in an AI Overview depends on its SERP position. A link ranked first has a 53% chance of being featured, while content ranked tenth has a 36.9% chance. This trend holds for related and reformulated queries as well, with higher-ranking documents more likely to be included. Trends in Unaccounted Links: Further analysis of the unaccounted links revealed a significant presence of YouTube and Wikipedia, highlighting specific domains that AI Overviews favor.

Comparative Studies by Advanced Web Ranking and SE Ranking In July 2024, Advanced Web Ranking published a comprehensive study that found 33.4% of links in AI Overviews are in the top 10 results for the query. On average they found AI Overviews to contain just over 7 links. SE Ranking’s latest AI Overview study showed a significant increase in the average number of links, rising from 4 to 9 per overview. Moreover, SE Ranking found that 73% of the links in AI Overviews aligned with the top 10 search results, highlighting a stronger connection between AI Overviews and organic rankings.

AI Overview Optimization Recommendations Based on Research Findings Based on the findings from our research into Google AI Overviews, here are targeted optimization strategies to explore to increase your content’s visibility in AI Overviews: Optimizing for Direct Match and Related Queries Target direct match queries where your content can realistically achieve first-page rankings on Google, as AI Overviews often source from the top search results. Prioritize high SERP positions by aiming for top rankings in Google search results; the higher your content ranks, the greater the probability of its inclusion in an AI Overview. For highly competitive queries where first-page rankings are challenging, focus on related or reformulated queries where you can rank high. These are often less competitive but relevant variations of the main queries that can provide alternative entry points into AI Overviews. Use Google’s “People also search for” section to find queries that align with both the AI Overview content and your own, enhancing your strategy to target relevant queries. Leveraging YouTube Given the presence of YouTube links in AI Overviews, create and optimize video content relevant to your desired queries. Ensure your YouTube videos have clear, descriptive titles and detailed descriptions that incorporate the target queries.

The average AI Overview is 169 words and 912 pixels long.Only 12.4% of the analyzed keywords display an AI Overview.A Featured Snippet is showing on 17.6% of the analyzed keywords.On average, AI Overviews appear alongside Featured Snippets in 7.4% of cases. For the Health niche, they show up together the most often (34.9% of queries).AI Overviews contain 7.2 links on average when expanded.33.4% of AI Overview links rank in that query's top 10 organic results.46.5% of the URLs included in AI Overviews rank outside the top 50 organic results.Five-word queries trigger an AI Overview most frequently.Keywords from the Health and Safety niches are more likely to trigger AI Overviews.No AI Overviews show up for brand related queries.Navigational intent keywords are less likely to display AI Overviews.Google Ads are displayed in 28.3% keywords that trigger AI Overviews.From all the keywords that trigger AI Overviews, Ads at the top of the SERP appear for 8.7% of keywords. Ads at the bottom are displayed for 19.5% of these keywords.Shopping Ads are almost never seen together with AI Overviews and when they are, they always appear below the AI Overview.

AI Overview Visibility by IndustryWhich industries show AI Overviews more frequently?The bar chart below shows the frequency of AI overviews across different industries.