Google clicks are down, impressions are up

If you’ve read any SEO news recently, you’ve probably seen the headlines. Clicks are down, zero-click searches are up. Our Google Search Console graphs ‘look like crocodiles’ (as we search nerds are saying), with more people seeing our content but fewer people clicking on it. Why? Because AI Overviews (and AI Mode) are answering searches without a click.

What does this mean for digital PR?

This is the new normal. There’s no getting away from it. If you (or your clients) haven’t already seen a drop in clicks, you probably will soon.

But despite the obvious negative consequences and opinions flying around, I’m keen to focus on the positives. Because honestly, it’s not all bad.

Despina Gavoyannis wrote this piece for Ahrefs that I think sums it up perfectly. This is an opportunity for the industry to think creatively again. For some people (not all), SEO and digital PR had shifted from genuine marketing strategies to something far more formulaic. AI-generated content, paid link building. It’s not been particularly inspiring… but the new search landscape changes everything.

Brand building. Demand creation. Unforgettable content. It’s time for everyone involved in search to start thinking like marketers again. And it’s a great opportunity for PR to take some of the limelight. So let’s do something about it.

New AI search engine that compensates publishers for content

It’s not just search marketers who are innovating. AI providers are too. And one might’ve just created something that could have a massive impact on the future of AI search (and I’m really, really excited).

ProRata is a company founded by Bill Gross, the guy who invented pay-per-click advertising. And he might’ve just solved one of the core issues with AI search: publisher compensation.

So how’s Gross done it? He’s created an AI search engine (called Gist AI) that only generates responses from content shared by licensed publishers. This means no spammy content in the AI search results, no nonsensical forums advising people to put glue on pizza. Just genuine insights from trustworthy sources. He’s already secured licenses with over 500 major publishers (including big names like The Guardian, Daily Mail, TIME, Fortune, The Fast Company and more). So not a bad bunch at all.

And while that’s great, the next bit is even better. Gist AI uses proprietary technology to estimate the value of a publisher’s contribution to each AI response, and compensates them accordingly. In other words, it measures how much of the AI response came from each publisher, and then pays them every time someone reads it.

Pauline Frommer from the travel publisher Frommer Media (one of these 500+ publishers) sums it up brilliantly:

“AI driven search does not have to be based on theft; publishers can, and should, be compensated for the use of their copyrighted material. No machine can sleep in a hotel bed to review a property, eat at a restaurant, or explore a new museum, amusement park, or monument. These tasks, and the writing that comes from them, will remain the work of human journalists, and compensation for that work is necessary for it to continue.”

If you’ve got 15 minutes spare, I’d really recommend watching the first half of Brill Gross’ presentation below. It’s a great watch.

What does this mean for digital PR?

I think this technology is so, so exciting. It’s exactly what AI search has been missing. Ever since ChatGPT launched in 2022, the power has been weighted VERY heavily in favour of AI platforms. They’ve been training on publishers’ content, using it in their responses and giving nothing back. But this could change that.

It’s great news for the PR sector on multiple fronts. First, accurate attribution and compensation mean publishers have a way forward. In a world of declining clicks, traffic and revenues, it gives them hope. And as these publishers are a key channel for engaging with our target audiences – keeping them afloat means we can continue doing just that.

Beyond this, it could even present an alternative revenue source for us. Writing quality, engaging, audience-focused content is what we do. It’s quite literally our job. So imagine if one day, we could get compensated for it.

Yes, that day could be a long way off. But if AI search does reward quality content with financial compensation, is there anyone better qualified to create it?

I’d say that good PRs are close to top of the pack.

More digital PR and SEO updates this month:

• Google Search Console now includes AI Mode data. On the surface, this sounds great. But can we filter this data? Can we identify clicks from AI Mode vs traditional search? Of course not. This is Google we’re talking about.

• BBC threatens Perplexity AI with legal action. The BBC could join the long list of publishers suing AI platforms. It claims Perplexity was “trained using BBC content” without their permission. Will it come to anything? Who knows. But it’s another reason for the people at ProRata to feel positive.

• Google launches voice search in AI Mode: Search Live. People have been predicting the explosion of voice search for years. Could this finally be the time? Maybe. But plenty of people still need to be convinced.