Marketing That Lasts, AI Search Shifts, and Audio’s Role
Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Growth Digest
Your biweekly dose of content marketing news and advice to help you grow your audience, level up your content game, and get your site to the top results in Google.
Hey Reader,
SEO is constantly changing, and so is the way we approach marketing.
This week, we’re looking at why AI Overviews don’t always align with organic search results, the long game of building customer trust, and whether adding an audio version of your blog is worth it.
Here’s what you need to know.
What's The Buzz?
Marketing is a thoughtful conversation, not a pick-up line. Amanda Natividad’s post is a reminder that real results take time. A potential customer might follow you for months before clicking your link, read your newsletter for a year before buying, or share your content multiple times before making a purchase. The key? Patience.
Impatient marketers often switch strategies too soon, chasing quick wins instead of building lasting relationships. But the slow, steady approach doesn't just generate a sustainable customer base. It also turns customers into advocates. Stay the course, build trust, and let time work in your favor.
SHOULD YOU ADD AUDIO TO YOUR BLOG? -- In Google’s latest SEO office hours, Martin Splitt clarified that adding an audio version of a blog post likely won’t boost search rankings. While that might sound like a dealbreaker, he still recommends doing it for the user experience. Offering an audio option can make your content more accessible to those who prefer listening over reading, including people with visual impairments or busy professionals on the go.
Even if audio doesn’t directly improve rankings, it can still contribute to engagement, shares, and time spent on your site; all of which can have positive, indirect effects on SEO. At the end of the day, content should be created with your audience in mind, not just search engines. If adding audio enhances your visitors’ experience, it’s a worthwhile investment.
HOW AIO AND ORGANIC SEARCH ARE EVOLVING -- New research from Authoritas reveals that AI Overviews (AIO) and organic search results are evolving on separate tracks. Their study found that AIO results are more volatile, frequently changing, and don’t always align with fluctuations in organic rankings.
This suggests that AIO isn’t just pulling from top-ranking pages but is independently generating summaries from multiple sources, much like an enhanced featured snippet. Generative responses changed with each query, emphasizing Google's approach to customizing AI-driven answers instead of simply reflecting traditional search rankings.
For SEO, this means treating AIO as a distinct search feature- akin to optimizing for featured snippets rather than organic rankings alone. Instead of chasing AIO placements, the key takeaway is to craft precise, high-quality content that answers complex queries directly.
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