Ever since the internet reign has started, public opinion has had a serious impact on business. And now, it's about to have a bigger one with the arrival of Google (News - Alert)'s Search Generative Experience (SGE), an AI feature integrated into the Google search engine being currently tested in 120 countries and which should arrive in France later this year. Unlike the traditional search engine, the AI will not base his response solely on a company's SEO efficiency, but on its notoriety first. How will this impact a company's visibility and how can they accurately gauge public opinion about them? Here's what you need to know.
Get ready for Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) – What Companies need to know
Someone once said to the writer of this article: "Change is good, because then: Everything is possible." That is definitely the way companies should look at the arrival of Google's SGE; as an opportunity to raise their visibility online. As for businesses which are currently at the top of the pyramid, they will quickly need to find ways to adapt to the upcoming changes as seamlessly as possible. In fact, any company that depends on its ranking in Google's search results should already be studying how SGE is affecting their position in the 120 countries where tests are taking place. For businesses worldwide, it has to be as important as paying their taxes on time.
First echoes back tend to show that one of the most important changes it will bring is the fact that the AI add-on to the search engine will actually base its searches more on notoriety of companies than on their SEO strategies. To say this is significant isn't sufficient. The digital marketing industry is on the verge of a major shift that could significantly impact the position of specialists in the market. Those who will understand first how to modify their client's strategy in regards to their online visibility will no doubt be in high demands. As for those who miss the boat; it's probable they will be losing many clients in the months ahead.
How can a Company measure its Notoriety Online and Public Opinion?
Determining a company's online reputation and public perception can be a challenging and time-consuming task. However, there is an efficient solution that provides comprehensive results quickly: scraping. If you're unfamiliar with this term, you should know that there are lots of ways to scrape data on the web. One of them is to use a tool like ZenRows, an API that automatically extracts data from websites. This data may initially be unorganized and in HTML format, but you can convert it into structured data in a spreadsheet or database afterwards.
However, scraping can offer its own set of challenges. One of them is facing anti-bot measures that can be found on some of the websites that you would like to scrape. For example, they can insert CAPTCHA tests to ensure that a human is actually making the request. One of the most commonly used anti-bot implanted on websites is called Cloudfare. This WAF (Web Application Firewall) is meant to defend against various securities threat and considers a scraping API as such. If you ever face that problem, here is how to bypass Cloudflare.
When it comes to gathering data through scraping tools, businesses should prioritize finding the most suitable websites to gain information from. Social media platforms, online forums, and news sites are typically prime sources for feedback on a company's online presence. Scraping tools can assist businesses in collecting this data to learn what customers are saying about their products and services. It can also aid in keeping track of any media coverage related to their industry by scraping relevant websites. If SGE is any indication of future trends, companies will need to regularly scrape the web and take action based on the information gathered to maintain their reputation and public perception.
Additional Solutions
In order to effectively address the issue at hand, alternative methods may need to be utilized in conjunction with scraping. Prior to implementing these methods, it is recommended to also monitor the reputation of competitors using the scraping technique, which can provide insight into your chances of achieving top rankings on Google's search engine. Additionally, gathering feedback through surveys on your website and social media platforms or via email can prove valuable. If all else fails, enlisting the help of a reputable reputation management service may be an option, although their effectiveness may not surpass that of scraping techniques.
