Google’s AI Overview is a year old and has generated sharp reductions in organic and paid search clicks. Advertisers must prioritize top of funnel advertising so they can “be known before they’re needed.”
Key findings:
- As a result of Google’s AI Overviews, search traffic is down sharply and maintaining it now costs significantly more than it did two years ago.
- If people already know your name, AI search helps you. If they do not, it buries you.
- In a world where you can’t reliably pay platforms to send customers your way, a strong brand will remain the best insurance policy. Strong brands are not built on clicks but on memories.
- Steve’s Pest Control of Columbia, Missouri built a massive business that beats all national competitors with a long-term brand building campaign on AM/FM radio. Steve’s has a stunningly strong unaided awareness of 34%.
- Local unaided awareness studies reveal “don’t know” is the number one brand in many local categories and a huge opportunity.
- Advertising creates memories and memories generate sales. The brand that’s remembered is the brand that is bought.
- Brand building is no longer a soft, long-term play. It is a hard, measurable defense against algorithmic disruption. The companies that invested in being known and trusted are being rewarded. Click here to view the full post on the blog.
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