Well, SGE was introduced with lots of excitement as a way to make your Google searches more personal and unique. It was like having a helpful digital friend who gave you answers. People loved it at first.
But now, it seems like Google is turning down the volume on SGE. Why?
One reason could be that the answers SGE gives might not always be spot on. It's a bit like having a friend who tries to help but sometimes gets things a little off road.
Google #SGE giving false info about cruise document requirements. This could go so wrong so fast for visa/travel requirement queries. https://t.co/WoWOrPxzBd
— Nate Hake (@natejhake) May 27, 2023
SGE continues to evolve. I'm now seeing what I'm calling "SGE lite" in the SERPs. SGE doesn't trigger a large block by default anymore... it's now much smaller with a large "Show more" button. Again, IMO SGE will not roll out unless it's revenue-neutral or positive... Stay tuned: pic.twitter.com/JSlUJ7V7ef
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) October 7, 2023
Abbreviated SGE is Google's answer to the poor Cumulative Layout Shift experience in the early beta.
— Ross Hudgens (@RossHudgens) October 23, 2023
The good news for SEOs -- as displayed, it's not going to impact organic CTR significantly. https://t.co/fganqVjmv7 pic.twitter.com/mFTlCxLOqO
SGE went from taking over my entire screen for most queries earlier this year, to being "opt-in" only, or not showing at all for most queries in the past month.
— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) October 23, 2023
In fact, I can't remember the last time it loaded automatically. I imagine most other testers are seeing the same? pic.twitter.com/quuNVzXlBD
Another reason is trust. Do you trust a computer-generated answer as much as a human one? Some people don't, and that might be why Google is making changes.
What's really interesting is that Google hasn't explained why they're doing this. It's a bit of a mystery.
If you're in the United States, you can still use SGE until December 2023. In India, you've got until February 2024.
So, why is Google doing this when they put so much effort into SGE? We don't know for sure. But it's something we should pay attention to because it could affect how we use the internet and how we find information.
If you're into SEO (search engine optimization), the good news is that these changes in SGE probably won't mess up your website traffic.
In a nutshell, SGE is like a magic assistant that Google is adjusting. It's all about making search better, and we're just getting started on this journey.
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