- Passionate Income
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- Should You Chase Google Traffic?
812 Words | 3 Min 23 Sec Read
Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.
Today we’ll be discussing whether you should put effort into generating leads and sales from Google.
Let’s dive in.
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Unsure if you should optimize your website or blog for Google?
A couple months ago I heard a great podcast interview discussing how AI programs like ChatGPT and Perplexity (not an affiliate link) were chipping away at Google's search engine usage.
So when I saw an article stating Google's ad share dominance would drop below 50% for the first time in over a decade, I wasn't exactly shocked.
As someone who's used search engines less and AI programs more, I've witnessed firsthand how there's a fundamental shift taking place regarding how people look for information online.
But there's a caveat...
While Google's ad share dominance is dropping, they still account for 79% of American desktop searches and a stunning 95% of mobile ones.
Which raises an interesting question:
If people still turn to Google as often as they used, but advertisers are spending less money there and more money elsewhere, is there something advertisers know that the general public doesn't?
From my point of view, the answer is multi-faceted.
First and foremost, Google has made multiple changes to it's interface over the past 20 years. The most recent of which have prioritized ads, snippets, shopping results (which are paid) and local business information.
At the same time, that prioritization has come at the expense of the organic (aka non-paid / normal) website listings being pushed down.
And the less visible those links become, the fewer clicks they get.
Second, there's no denying AI is biting into Google's search volume.
While the numbers aren't clear, anecdotal evidence (including podcast interviews, conversations with fellow entrepreneurs, etc.) show those of us who are more tech savvy are using AI more and search engines less.
A pattern that will continue to play out over time.
Third, to compete with programs like ChatGPT, Google itself has started rolling out AI results at the top of its search results page.
A feature I personally just noticed recently, and one that has come in handy quite a few times already.
Sadly, these AI snippets do a grand total of nothing in terms of driving traffic to small business websites.
So why do I bring this up?
On the one hand, marketers consistently rank search engine traffic as being higher quality / more likely to convert relative to social media.
Which makes sense: Someone who's searching for something has intent and is being proactive, while someone who's scrolling social media is looking for passive entertainment.
At the same time, some categories of products and services lend themselves to search more than others.
As an example, if you need a dentist or pest control expert in your local area, odds are the very first thing you'll do is search for someone on your Google maps app.
And if you want to buy a new brand of protein powder, you might search for "Best protein powders 2024."
At the same time, people don't search for Instagram coaches or financial newsletters using search engines.
Instead, they go down rabbit holes on social media, find a couple people whose content they like, and subscribe.
From there, they may watch / read / listen to your content over a span of weeks, months or years before buying.
Meaning, the decision to pursue Google as a source of new business depends entirely on what you sell.
If you're a local business, sell physical products online, or provide a nationwide service (including SaaS), Google can still act as an incredible source of high quality leads.
However, if your business does not fall into one of these categories, odds are you're best off investing that effort into social media instead.
Especially with how much Google has punished small business websites in favor of companies who pay for top positioning on their results page.
💡 Takeaway: While Google used to be a "must have" in terms of generating website traffic, the shift toward social media and artificial intelligence show search engines are becoming less relevant every year that goes by. With that said, if you run a brick and mortar, Google is still an absolute must.
🎁 Resources:
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