Who Moved My Web Traffic?
5 Strategies For B2B Marketing To Gear Up For The Era Of Gen AI-Powered Search.
Imagine obsessing over creating a strategy presentation at work. You do tonnes of research and put in days and weeks to create the perfect deck.Â
Then, a pesky colleague swoops in and presents your hard work to the higher-ups, and takes all the credit.
Now, what if this keeps happening, not just to you, but to your colleagues too?
How does that make you feel?Â
Angry? Undervalued? Demotivated?
Would you carry on working with virtually no recognition?
If you are a B2B marketer, brace yourself. The new generative AI-driven Google search is bit of that credit-mongering colleague. It is set to paraphrase your meticulously crafted website content, presenting it directly to your prospects while bypassing your site traffic.
Google's Search Generative Experience is the biggest shake-up for B2B marketers, impacting both organic and paid demand generation.
In this article, we'll explore how Google's new Search Generative Experience affects content, traffic, and the organic discovery of B2B products and services.Â
 We'll also explore prophylactic measures to safeguard marketing ROI.
What's Up with Google's Search Generative Experience?
Google's Search Generative Experience uses AI to directly give detailed, conversational search results on the search page.
In essence, zero-click search means users get all the information they need right from the search results page without clicking any links.
According to SEMRush's State of Search Report, in 2023, 25.6% of desktop searches and 17.3% of mobile searches ended in zero-click searches, meaning users got their info straight from the search results page without clicking any further.
Google drives 86% of desktop search traffic and processes over 40,000 searches per second. The 25% zero-click rate felt like a fair cost of doing business on the platform.Â
With the advent of Google Search Generative Experience, this cost is increasing—for some websites, it might be as high as 95%.
Early studies predict a 16% to 65% drop in website traffic, with the hardest-hit losing up to 95%.
Why Is This An Extinction-Level Event For B2B Content Marketing?
A typical B2B website has two essential components: product/service pages to drive sales and content pages to attract traffic, especially from top-of-the-funnel prospects.
Brands invest in search ads to bring traffic to product pages while relying on Google’s organic traffic to engage those who aren't problem- or solution-aware or who are simply out-of-market.
At any given time, 95% of B2B customers are out-of-market.Â
When ready to buy, these potential future customers will consider a small set of 3-5 brands, influenced primarily by the content they encounter, especially on websites.
The new AI-powered search is like a magic trick gone wrong for marketers—answering complex customer queries right on the search page, no clicks needed.Â
The value of your meticulously crafted content? It might just vanish into thin air.
According to a study by BrightEdge, an estimated 84% of queries on Google Search will be boosted by generative AI, with the healthcare, e-commerce, and B2B technology industries being most affected by the change.Â
Gearing Up For the Future of Search & Content Marketing.
The change in search behaviour is inevitable. As a user, I look forward to the new AI-enabled experience—it saves me time finding information. As a B2B marketer, it's time to mobilise.
AI-powered search will lead to several changes, including search ads and ad performance benchmarks, KPIs linked to content, organic content moats, and more.
5 Strategies to prepare for the upcoming web traffic heist.
Capsule Wardrobe Your Content.Â
Your website will stop pulling the numbers it used to. It’s time to get creative.Â
Can you turn that 25-minute live webinar into bite-sized YouTube Shorts, catchy LinkedIn snippets, engaging email content, or an on-demand video on your site?
The "Meal, Snack, Nibble, and Bite" framework can transform your B2B content into a feast of opportunities, ensuring every piece pulls its weight.
Juggle; Don’t Tightrope Walk.
If Google is your primary traffic source, it’s time to diversify.
Two great places to start: YouTube and Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn.
YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Despite its vast reach and the perk of showing up as video snippets in Google searches, it’s often underused by B2B marketers.
Take your existing videos and give them new life: optimize descriptions, add relevant tags and cards, enhance thumbnails, and watch what resonates to inspire future content.
LinkedIn content, especially when shared by employees, can significantly boost your brand’s mental availability among out-of-market customers. Encourage your team to share and engage with company content to amplify your reach.
Connect With The Window Shoppers:Â
Not every form-fill on your website is a lead. Some visitors are simply interested in staying informed and aren't ready for an aggressive sales pitch.Â
Marketable contacts just jumped to #1 on the KPI billboard.Â
Armed with email automation tools, you can develop campaigns tailored to the prospect's buying journey. This strategy lets brands connect with prospects much earlier in their buying journey.
The value exchange between publishers/brands and Google is weakening. Google’s cookie deprecation (which might happen next year) and AI-scraping makes a strong case to relook content gating strategy.Â
Ace Content Fracking.Â
Much of B2B content mirrors what's already on the web. Copycat content will suffer the most as Search Generative Experience rolls out.Â
Information Gain is crucial: Ask yourself, "What unique insights am I bringing to the discussion?"
Self-researched, original content that addresses underserved niches will continue to drive valuable traffic to your website.
Swipe Right:
Collaborations, co-marketing & co-branding are the new cool. Embracing an ecosystem view is a much-needed marketing power-up.Â
Engage with partners who add value to your audience, offer complementary solutions, or provide mutual benefits. Map out potential collaborators—other companies, thought leaders, influencers, publications, associations.Â
Jointly create content, share insights, or host events to drive shared success.
TL;DR:
Here are my five action items to keep the content marketing engine running despite the looming web traffic apocalypse:
Repurpose your content
Diversify product discovery
Engage with your prospects
Focus on information gain
Embrace the ecosystem view
The Shape of Success.
We love linear lines, where output is proportional to the time and effort invested.
With the AI-powered search, we are moving into a stage where the shape of progress will start looking different. The results might be delayed, unpredictable, and possibly even disappear suddenly.Â
AI-powered search is a canon event for B2B marketing, where we can refresh, refuel, and restart the engines that fuel our top-of-the-funnel. The changes will be disruptive. However, brands that are agile enough to adapt will survive and dominate new niches.Â
Are you ready for what's coming? What changes do you foresee in B2B marketing due to Gen AI-powered search?
Thank you for reading.
I intend to experiment with a few long-form articles occasionally. The regular weekly marketing update on The Marketing Dojo will return this Wednesday.
Regards,