Google just changed its guidance for small businesses. Here’s what to know. | Expert Opinion

AI is already impacting online search, and if your small business relies on the internet for growth, you’ll need to prepare.

Most of us have already seen how AI chatbots are driving web users toward getting answers on a search results page, keeping them from clicking on our websites.

OpenAI announced earlier this year that it would start selling advertising on its popular AI. Google and Microsoft are still “testing” the use of advertising in their Gemini and Copilot chatbots.

Google — which still remains the top site for search engine results — last week released new guidance on how small businesses can improve their chances of getting found on Google in this new world of generative AI.

According to Google, there are now AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, and GEO, which is Generative Engine Optimization. But in the end, it’s all still SEO — Search Engine Optimization – and from what I’ve read, the approach isn’t all that different.

Google reaffirms that the content on your site should continue to be authentic and offer a unique point of view.

It should focus on the specific things your company does and why it’s different. It should offer answers to questions. The more commoditized your content is, the greater the chance it will be pushed down in search results.

“You can simplify your approach by focusing on one core principle: focus on what your visitors would enjoy, find helpful, and feel satisfied with after visiting your website,” Google says. “If you’re ever unsure about a decision for your site, ask yourself: ‘Is this content that my visitors would find satisfying?’ If the answer is yes, then you’re on the right track, as our systems are designed to connect people with exactly that kind of useful information.”

Your site needs to be organized in a readable manner. It should contain high-quality images. It should be straightforward and structured to make navigation easy and fast. It should limit duplicate content.

Google also warns that you also shouldn’t be trying to “game” the system. Spending your time pursuing ways to trick the search giant into prioritizing your site will ultimately lead to worse search results over the longer period of time. Google is Google. They’re going to figure it out.

You also need to make sure your site is technically up to speed. That means being properly indexed, have relevant keywords, and be “crawlable” so that Google can seamlessly access, navigate, and read your website’s content. Your site should load fast, be easily displayable across any kind of device, and be current with the latest changes in HTML and JavaScript, the two most common languages used to create webpages and power sites.

“It’s important that your website [and campaigns] use relevant keywords, related to the correct audience at the right times,” said Alex Schwartz, marketing director at Warminster-based point-of-sale business Signature Systems Inc. “It’s easier to sell ice cream to locals in August than to people two states away in December.”

Google also recommends avoiding common mistakes people are making to make their sites more visible to AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude. You should avoid “chunking,” which is the practice of breaking your content into tiny pieces for AI to better understand it because Google says there’s no ideal page length. You also don’t need to rewrite your content to catch the eye of AI platforms, and you should not say your site is being “mentioned” on other prominent sites when it’s not.

What about paid ads? Regardless of SEO’s impact, many small businesses have found success instead with advertising.

Bob Bentz, president at Wayne-based marketing agency Purplegator, says creating multiple ad campaigns that track very specific keywords can not only produce clicks, but conversions to sales.

“Every keyword should be tagged and tracked,” he said. “Paid search success isn’t about guesswork — it’s about analytics, measurement, refinement, and disciplined optimization. The data will tell you where to double down and where to pull back.”

Schwartz, whose company relies heavily on Google ads and search for its marketing, has learned that Google evaluates what users do once they reach a website, so if people immediately leave, that signals to Google that the page they landed on is irrelevant to their search.

“If relevance is low, your site will grow less effective over time and be more costly to run, he said. “High relevance has the opposite effect, if users are spending a lot of time on the webpage after they click, Google will show that result more often and charge less for that result.”

There are plenty of resources available to help your small business master both SEO and paid search on Google. Schwartz says advertisers new to Google Ads can take Google‘s certification programs for learning the platform.

“At the end of the day, great Google Ads campaigns aren’t about spending more,” Bentz said. “They’re about spending smarter.”

Regardless of whether it’s SEO or paid advertising, the most important practice to help your site be found online is basic research.

“I strongly recommend that established businesses ask their customers how they found out about them,” Schwartz said. “If a business’s ideal customers are all searching for something specific, it’s important to lean into advertising with that term.”