4 ms·

Future of SEO in a Post-ChatGPT World

9 points by kamphey 3y ago

chiefalchemist 3y ago
- more zero-click searches as Google answers most queries directly in the SERP This should be listed first, and repeated at least three times. People don't want SERPs. They want answers. Full stop. SERPs were an acceptable proxy. Not any more.
- stevenicr 3y ago
  agree more zero click searches, and extend that to zero 'google' searches as well (no need to use google if the X-bot on your Y-device can give you the answer without the need of google. coming chatgpt bots on device will cut out google, and the stupidly overly long recipe sites, completely for most searchers. However SERPs weren't just acceptable, they were / are wanted for many searches - including many that google now censors. I discovered uncensored gpt recently and I see a totally new way of tech coming soon for the average consumer / user. I'll say it again, google is and will be the 'new' yellow pages - it will still be the goto for finding how late the store you are going to is open and the phone number for it. The short term challenge with the new search and find will be monetizing the new answer bots - pay a dollar per year like whatsapp was? someone going to come with a decentralized adwords like tech that can insert local ads in various cities? I recall a post the other day, someone running a local-like gpt and it's getting lots of use and costing him/(her?) $50 / day for hosting.. that's not tenable without some flow of cash.. but ads could be 1/10th the google prices and be successful and fund smaller instances people can use. and ads not needed if 100 people are paying $1 per month for a server costing 50. a half gig of knowledge saved on device or on router could eliminate a lot of repeated searches completely as well - a smart bot would locally store the last years worth of recipes you've searched, the safe temp for chicken / salmon.. how to convert cups to quarts.. A smart bot would also fetch rss-like the latest news / weather / sports scores and such - no big G needed - except to check for changing open hours around holidays and such.
  - chiefalchemist 3y ago
    > However SERPs weren't just acceptable, they were / are wanted for many searches No one wants a SERP. At the time, it just happened to be the best way to communicate "the answer" to the search. Look at it this way, no one is going to ChatGPT (or similar), looking for any answer and saying "...and please give the answer as a SERP..." SERPs worked. They were the best option. But no one really wanted them per se. Perhaps not in all cases, but in 80%, maybe even 90%.
    - stevenicr 3y ago
      I wish I had good inside info to know what the breakdown is - you may be right that 80 or 90% is I want answer to X - I certainly see a lot of searches looking for one line answers.. is X open till 10pm tonight? What is the safe temp for cooked Y.. When I mention that a lot of searches were great as serps, and things that made google popular back in the day, that they have made more shitty over they years.. searches for 'sexy pics of celebrity X' - 'place with free episode of tv / show / music etc' - when I am searching for art or pics and even hotels - I want chunked lists for comparing things - I don't always want the cheapest 1 thing.. or the closest 1 thing - I want serps when searching for things on youtube usually not the 1 thing. similar with amazon results - once in a while I want this 1 thing, (particular trash bags brand/size) and order it.. but often times I want serps to show me several options and additional filters in cases to narrow it down and such - to see what's out there, compare and make different choices. I would love to know the real data on how many and what searches are 1 result needed - no further answer required - and what things are needed as lists. I have seen many chatgpt prompts that say put these into a list, make a table showing these things.. but that may be my bias in learning about 'publishing specific' things - perhaps it is 10% or less rare to request a list. If truly 90% of searches are single answer only needed, not lists of things, google (and ads, and content portals like recipe sites, and SEO) is in more trouble than I guessed.
      - chiefalchemist 3y ago
        The number of searches that are for small quick answers is very high. I read the number a year or so ago. I wamt to say over 80%. Whatever it was it made me think that most searches were like Jeopardy questions :) That aside, I can still see questions like "I'm interested in X. Give me an overview and the Top Y things I need to know about X..." What used to take a page or two of SERPs is no longer necessary. We'll still search like we did but it'll be the last choice not the first, second or third.

9 points by kamphey 3y ago

- more zero-click searches as Google answers most queries directly in the SERP This should be listed first, and repeated at least three times. People don't want SERPs. They want answers. Full stop. SERPs were an acceptable proxy. Not any more.

stevenicr 3y ago
agree more zero click searches, and extend that to zero 'google' searches as well (no need to use google if the X-bot on your Y-device can give you the answer without the need of google. coming chatgpt bots on device will cut out google, and the stupidly overly long recipe sites, completely for most searchers. However SERPs weren't just acceptable, they were / are wanted for many searches - including many that google now censors. I discovered uncensored gpt recently and I see a totally new way of tech coming soon for the average consumer / user. I'll say it again, google is and will be the 'new' yellow pages - it will still be the goto for finding how late the store you are going to is open and the phone number for it. The short term challenge with the new search and find will be monetizing the new answer bots - pay a dollar per year like whatsapp was? someone going to come with a decentralized adwords like tech that can insert local ads in various cities? I recall a post the other day, someone running a local-like gpt and it's getting lots of use and costing him/(her?) $50 / day for hosting.. that's not tenable without some flow of cash.. but ads could be 1/10th the google prices and be successful and fund smaller instances people can use. and ads not needed if 100 people are paying $1 per month for a server costing 50. a half gig of knowledge saved on device or on router could eliminate a lot of repeated searches completely as well - a smart bot would locally store the last years worth of recipes you've searched, the safe temp for chicken / salmon.. how to convert cups to quarts.. A smart bot would also fetch rss-like the latest news / weather / sports scores and such - no big G needed - except to check for changing open hours around holidays and such.
- chiefalchemist 3y ago
  > However SERPs weren't just acceptable, they were / are wanted for many searches No one wants a SERP. At the time, it just happened to be the best way to communicate "the answer" to the search. Look at it this way, no one is going to ChatGPT (or similar), looking for any answer and saying "...and please give the answer as a SERP..." SERPs worked. They were the best option. But no one really wanted them per se. Perhaps not in all cases, but in 80%, maybe even 90%.
  - stevenicr 3y ago
    I wish I had good inside info to know what the breakdown is - you may be right that 80 or 90% is I want answer to X - I certainly see a lot of searches looking for one line answers.. is X open till 10pm tonight? What is the safe temp for cooked Y.. When I mention that a lot of searches were great as serps, and things that made google popular back in the day, that they have made more shitty over they years.. searches for 'sexy pics of celebrity X' - 'place with free episode of tv / show / music etc' - when I am searching for art or pics and even hotels - I want chunked lists for comparing things - I don't always want the cheapest 1 thing.. or the closest 1 thing - I want serps when searching for things on youtube usually not the 1 thing. similar with amazon results - once in a while I want this 1 thing, (particular trash bags brand/size) and order it.. but often times I want serps to show me several options and additional filters in cases to narrow it down and such - to see what's out there, compare and make different choices. I would love to know the real data on how many and what searches are 1 result needed - no further answer required - and what things are needed as lists. I have seen many chatgpt prompts that say put these into a list, make a table showing these things.. but that may be my bias in learning about 'publishing specific' things - perhaps it is 10% or less rare to request a list. If truly 90% of searches are single answer only needed, not lists of things, google (and ads, and content portals like recipe sites, and SEO) is in more trouble than I guessed.
    - chiefalchemist 3y ago
      The number of searches that are for small quick answers is very high. I read the number a year or so ago. I wamt to say over 80%. Whatever it was it made me think that most searches were like Jeopardy questions :) That aside, I can still see questions like "I'm interested in X. Give me an overview and the Top Y things I need to know about X..." What used to take a page or two of SERPs is no longer necessary. We'll still search like we did but it'll be the last choice not the first, second or third.