Will the way we search the web change forever due to AI?
On today’s episode of iGaming Daily, supported by Optimove, the show’s SEO guru, Ivana Flynn, is joined by industry veterans Dagmar Janssen, Marketing Director at Mega Block Gaming, and Valentina Diaco, Marketing and igaming Consultant, to discuss how AI will impact searching the web and SEO for igaming.
The trio start by differentiating between traditional SEO and Search AI optimisation (SAIO).
Ivanna said: “In a nutshell, SEO and SAIO are very similar. SEO is more action-orientated. We want you to spend time there if it’s a website. It’s more keyword specific and we concentrate on things such as E-A-T, SPEED, core web vitals and very important linking. All of this is nitty-gritty optimisation, that’s SEO.
“When it comes to optimising for AI, on top of all of this, it’s more awareness orientated and it’s more conversational. When you think how we started the search we ask more questions, so AI is trying to answer that. It is all about product listing and it utilises lots of schema to make sure that you can be considered a good result. It’s conversational and you create conversation that bots can answer.”
Earlier this year, Google promoted Liz Reid to its Head of Search who has been focused on developing its Search Generative Experience (SGE) powered by AI. The tool is designed to provide an overview of search topics without the need to visit individual websites.
Around 87% of queries are currently covered by SGE and Ivanna asks her guests whether the development of SGE could lead to the death of traditional SEO.
Valentina said: “It’s evolving into something different that can be integrated with the traditional SEO as we know it. I do believe that the SEO experts with a solid and robust knowledge in SEO have a competitive advantage and can adapt their strategy to be relevant.
“I see it also as a big opportunity for operators to focus on a more user centric approach focusing on the quality of the content that they release. I don’t believe that SEO is dead, but we cannot minimise the importance of AI. The two strategies need to be integrated and work together.”
She added that her tips to appear within the top results of SGE searches are to emphasise Q&A formats, keep text structure simple, incorporate multimedia in content and utlise bullet points to allow easy comprehension by AI.
Casino and gaming are some of the categories that aren’t currently part of the 87% of queries covered by SGE and as a result Dagmar says that the igaming shouldn’t currently be worried by the rise of SGE and searches powered by generative AI.
He said: “I’m not worried at all. I think as an affiliate if I’m operating within the United States or other English [speaking] countries I would maybe pay attention.
“I don’t really see within igaming big implications with SGE and I don’t think this niche will see big changes anytime soon. We are able to look at other niches, for example health care, to see how this really rolls out, what the effect will be on search behaviour and also the potential loss of traffic or increase in traffic if you play the game right.”
To end the episode the trio consider how searching the internet may change in the future, and Valentina explains that she “envisions a different landscape” which considers “the ultimate consumer needs”.
She added: “What I nolticed when I played through all these AI platforms is that when you search for information, it gives you follow-up questions trying to understand your primary intention in order to provide you with the right information.
“Perhaps the future is that it’s really different from the search as we see it right now. Even if there are schema and web structures listing products, maybe it will be more as a mind map. The question can be more articulated and then from these question and queries some others will open up.”
